


Hala Hala ||| Ateez

by flamewhipper



Series: Hala Hala [1]
Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Future, Bottom Choi San, Bottom Jung Wooyoung, Bottom Kang Yeosang, Bottom Kim Hongjoong, Chapter 37 is bad you've been warned, Criminal Choi Jongho, Criminal Choi San, Criminal Jung Wooyoung, Criminal Kang Yeosang, Criminal Park Seonghwa, Criminal Song Mingi, Dark Past, Eventual Smut, Inspired by Suicide Squad (2016), M/M, Mafia AU, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Police Officer Jeong Yunho, Police Officer Kim Hongjoong, Rape/Non-con Elements, Top Choi Jongho, Top Jeong Yunho, Top Park Seonghwa, Top Song Mingi, Unhappy Ending, Violence, mafia
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-09
Updated: 2021-01-31
Packaged: 2021-03-10 11:00:04
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 29
Words: 69,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27969458
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flamewhipper/pseuds/flamewhipper
Summary: Violence and crime have taken over a world now run by different crime lords and mafia bosses. Many members of the police force and military have been paid off to overlook crime, leaving the world in a hopeless and desperate state.Two men haven't given up and believe they can bring balance back to humanity, but to do so may be more dangerous then doing nothing.They plan to recruit 6 deadly men who have all been given multiple life sentences, and are all very skilled in their own way, in return for their freedom.If they cooperate, they go free. If they disobey, they die.Will this plan work? Or will the world fall deeper into despair?Secrets will be revealed, pasts that haunt them will come forward, lives will be at stake as they learn to work together.... or die alone.
Relationships: Choi Jongho/Kang Yeosang, Choi San/Jeong Yunho, Jung Wooyoung/Park Seonghwa, Kim Hongjoong/Song Mingi
Series: Hala Hala [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2048519
Comments: 5
Kudos: 72





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello Flamies!!
> 
> This is a popular book of mine that I am bringing over from Wattpad. I'm going to give you this warning now: This has a lot of triggering elements. It is a dark story. Please take caution before delving into this story. 
> 
> The edits are all made by me, photo credit goes to the original owners.
> 
> I also have a fan who made a trailer for this! You can watch it here! https://youtu.be/HjR6lNUPG_Q
> 
> That being said, I really hope you enjoy it! Any feedback would be very much appreciated <3

**Seonghwa**

Seonghwa took a deep, shuddering breath as he stared at the cold building in front of him. He couldn't believe he was actually considering doing this...

But the guilt was too much to bare.

His hands were still shaking as he saw the woman's piercing green eyes looking up at him, begging him not to do it.

Normally it wasn't a problem for him. That small, curved piece of metal was oh so easy to pull. And he hit his target every single time.

He had trained for years under his father to become the perfect assassin. His skill with guns was second to none, and because of that, he was widely sought after too.

People from every corner of this pitiful planet would send him money to kill their desired target.

Seonghwa had yet to fail.

But now... Now he had been given one final task that was supposed to complete his training. His father had pulled him aside and told him there was one final thing he must do before he was truly ready.

As leader of the Wolf Pack, one of the most well-known but also most protected and powerful circle of mafia, his father was a powerful man.

Seonghwa stood to inherit a lot, and he had no intention of disappointing his father.

_"I can't do it." He said as his hand shook._

_"Don't fail me now boy! One final test, one final mission and you are ready!" His father growled._

_The pistol shook in his hand as he locked eyes with the woman. She pleaded with him through her gag. He had already failed in his eyes because she saw him hesitate._

_"Do it!" His father roared._

_Seonghwa bit his lip as his heart pounded in his chest._

_This wasn't right..._

**_BANG._ **

Seonghwa flinched and closed his eyes. Deep down he knew he could never do that again. It hurt too much and the guilt was too high.

Guilt. Like he deserved to feel guilt.

After everything he'd done? All the lives he'd taken?

Maybe that's why this was so hard for him... Because he did feel guilty.

He took one more deep breath before he stepped out of the alley he had been lurking in. His footsteps were silent as always as he walked across the empty street to the building in front of him.

Slowly, he ran a hand through his black hair, then fixed it so part of it hung over his left eye. He always wore it this way. He was right eye dominant, so keeping his left eye partially covered helped with his aim.

Seonghwa paused one more time in front of the doors.

He was really about to do this... He was signing his own death sentence.

If he walked through those doors, both the people inside, and his father, would do everything they could to kill him.

It was his one was ticket to hell.

And at only 23 years old, Seonghwa was ready to cash it in...

He straightened his back and held his head high before stepping through the doors and into the local police station.

The guard on duty rose immediately with an open mouth. Just as Seonghwa had expected. They knew his face. They knew he was.

But still he said, "My name is Park Seonghwa, I'm here to turn myself in."

**Mingi**

****

As he listened for each individual click, Mingi closed his eyes and pressed his ear into the side of the safe.

This was too easy. Whoever told this idiot that this safe was impenetrable had obviously never met Mingi.

There wasn't a lock he couldn't pick.

He turned the dial, listening for that special sound indicating he found the right number. The click was just a touch lower than all the others.

Mingi smirked when he heard it, indicating that there was only one more to find.

The house itself had been a cakewalk to get into. There was no security system in place, which was odd given the fact that this man was supposed to be a fellow thief. But maybe that was the point. The fool thought no one would be brave enough to steal from a thief.

But that was the most fun for Mingi.

He found the last click and grinned as he opened the safe. His breath was hot as he exhaled sharply into the mask he wore that covered his nose, cheeks, mouth and chin.

Siting on the top shelf was his prize. A diamond necklace that held a 5 carat diamond in the center of a halo of emeralds.

It was beautiful. And worth millions.

Mingi wrapped it in a cloth and placed it in the pocket of his trench coat before locking the safe up again and leaving it on the exact number it had been on before he left.

Small mistakes could cost him everything.

He quietly made his way down the stairs and bed to the patio door. It slid open smoothly and he closed it behind him after triggering the lock to drop in place the exact second the door closed.

Too. Easy.

As he ran to the fence, Mingi used his momentum to easily hurdle over it and drop into the neighboring yard.

Floodlights turned on, stunning him as his eyes seared with pain.

What the hell?

He turned to turn, but he tripped over something in the yard and cursed as he fell on his hands and knees.

He went the wrong fucking way. How could he be so stupid?

Mingi swore as he pushed himself off the ground and stumbled forward blindly. He had to get out of here quickly, before...

Sirens echoed in the distance.

"You picked the wrong yard bastard!" A man cried out.

Mingi's vision cleared just before he saw a shovel swing at his face.

**Yeosang**

Yeosang chewed on his bottom lip furiously as he listened to the pounding of his mechanical keyboard. It was the most soothing sound in the world to him and the only thing that would keep him focused while he worked.

The computer screen in front of him flashed as the loading bar finished. The green script flashed before his eyes.

When he found want he wanted, Yeosang smirked and shoved the sucker in his mouth into his cheek with his tongue and leaned forward.

His fingers flew furiously over the keys as he started entering in the coding needed to break into this account.

He was almost there.

Yeosang had been studying this account for weeks. He knew exactly when the biggest deposit was going to be made each week, so his plan was to set up a siphon to pull money at the same time, without leaving a footprint.

He had done it hundreds of times before without getting caught.

This time would be no different.

His tongue pushed the sucker to his other cheek and he sat back while his script loaded on the screen.

The bank had impressive security that was for sure. But it was no match for his programming. He had spent a couple of years developing his own software.

That hadn't been easy. Yeosang had had to study government systems for several months, learning their ticks and signs.

There were a couple of times he had almost been caught, but he had his own kill switch installed to delete every trace of himself before they could track him.

Those were his worst days because it mean he had to start from square one.

But now... Now he was unstoppable.

Yeosang had succeeded in robbing almost every single millionaire in the nation, and a few internationally as well.

And he never took much. He always made sure to take just enough to make a difference, but never enough to make it noticeable unless someone was really crunching the numbers.

It's not like those sick assholes really noticed anyway. They had more than enough to spare.

A confirm button appeared on his screen.

Everything was linked.

This was it.

The door burst open in front of him. "Freeze! Hands in the air now!"

**San**

_It's time. Do it now._

"No, I'm not ready yet. I need more time."

_There is no more time. It's now or never. We need it._

"Just let me study it for two more minutes."

_No! Now! Don't be pathetic._

San ran forward, making sure his mask was covering his face as he vaulted the fence to the house in front of him.

Keeping low to the ground, he crept along the wall of the house, ducking below the windows as he went.

His heart pounded the closer he got to the backdoor.

_Yes... Yes! This is a good place! Look at that fucking pool. Keep going. Don't disappoint us._

"I don't think there's a security system either. We should be good." San whispered as he walked silently up to the back door.

_Break the glass. Show them just how_ **_powerful_ ** _you are._

Gritting his teeth, San elbowed the glass on the back door, shivering at the sound it made before he reached in to undo the lock.

His muscles rippled as he wrenched it open, licking his lips as the glass crunched beneath his feet. It was almost as satisfying as hearing the crunching of bones.

He explored the entire first level of the house, picking up anything that might be of value.

Something thumped upstairs and San froze.

It was time to leave before he got caught. He booked it to the back door.

_No! Don't quit now. Don't be a whimp. You can do this. Show us_ **_how strong you are._ **

He paused in his tracks and heard footsteps pounding on the stairs. "Honey, call the police!" A man's voice shouted behind him.

San willed himself to move, but he had no control over his body.

_Blood... We need blood..._

San turned around and tilted his head to the side as a tall man ran at him with a baseball bat. He let out a low, lifeless laugh. This man was no match for him.

He grabbed the bat easily with his hand, relishing the way it slapped against his palm as he stopped it midair.

The man tried to pull it away, but San just tightened his grip.

"You should have stayed in bed." He purred before ripping the bat from the man's hands.

_Yes! Give us blood!_

San swung the bat as hard as he could. It connected with the side of the man's face with a resounding crack.

He laughed as he watched the body fall to the floor with a cry of pain. But it wasn't enough. He swung the bat repeatedly, laughing as blood started to splatter against the floor and walls.

More. He needed more.

_That's it! You've got the_ **_power_ ** _!_

San roared as he brought the bat down again hard enough for it to splinter.

By now the body was unrecognizable.

A scream came from the hallway and San's head snapped up. The woman belonging to the voice was standing on the stairs covering her mouth and staring at the body on the floor.

**_Do it._ **

San ran at her.

She scrambled up the stairs.

The front door burst open and San was tackled to the ground as police flooded the house.

**Jongho**

Cheers echoed through the warehouse as the two men in the ring shuffled in a circle, fists raised in front of their faces.

The crowd around them screamed the name of the fighter they wanted to win while handing around money between them.

Jongho watched with a proud smile from his balcony.

He had worked so hard to build up this ring, and the crowd it was drawing now was perfect.

People loved a good 'cock fight' and he was the person to give it to them.

He watched as the taller man swung high and the other one ducked beneath it and jabbed the taller in the stomach several times.

They parted and the dance continued.

This went on for several minutes before the taller finally managed to pin the shorter to the ground and started to beat him.

The crowd got louder as this happened.

When it was obvious that the shorter couldn't fit anymore, Jongho pulled back on the striker next to him and released it so it would slam into the large bell.

Silence fill the room as the two men separated.

"Paulie wins." Jongho called out.

Several members of the crowd cheered and surrounded the fighter, lifting him up to celebrate while the defeated man was escorted out of the ring to have his wounds looked at.

A runner approached Jongho and brought him the house winnings off that fight.

One match and he had already made over $1,000. This was going to be a good night.

He ran the bell twice. "Next up. Bently versus Chang!"

Two more fighters stepped into the ring and started to circle each other as the crowd placed their bets.

Jongho rolled his neck and flexed his hands. Maybe tonight he would take his turn. It had been awhile since he enjoyed the feeling of his fist breaking a jaw.

Chang slammed his own fist into Bently's shoulder, making him stumble to the side.

Then gunfire echoed around them and several people let out a cry of surprise before scattering.

Police flooded the area, trying to grab who they could, but there was too many people for them to keep track.

Jongho watched in horror as his secret crumbled before his eyes. How did they find out about this place? He had been so careful...

"Freeze Choi!"

**Wooyoung**

His footsteps were silent as he made his way down the long, cement hallway. Doors lined both sides of it and voices could be heard coming from each one.

But Wooyoung had only one door that he was looking for.

One single target to satisfy his dark desire.

The sounds got louder the further along he walked and he the best he could to force them out of his head.

They only served as a distraction.

He adjusted the mask on his face and ran his hand through his blonde hair.

Peering around the corner he had reached, his eyes flashed when he saw the target door. A large, ornate oak door that led to the main office.

This was it.

He pulled out his favorite knife and ran his finger across the edge in a motion that would cut most people. But his knife never bit him. It was another piece of him. An extension of his very being.

The silver blade winked at him as if telling him to proceed, so he did.

Wooyoung trotted down the hallways silently. He had learned how to place his feet so they never made a sound.

He could never, ever be caught in a place like this.

He would never, ever go back.

The door swung open easily and Wooyoung threw his knife with pinpoint accuracy at the man sitting behind the desk before he even had time to react.

The knife landed true, pinning his head to the back of his chair as it stuck out of his neck.

He gurgled something as he tried to talk, fumbling with the knife in his throat.

"I wouldn't remove that if I were you. You'll just die faster." Wooyoung said, walking over to the desk and sitting on the edge of it. "Plus that takes the fun out of it for me."

The man opened his mouth as he reached for the drawer on his desk.

Wooyoung leaned forward and yanked the knife to the side, slicing open the entire side of the man's neck.

He laughed as his head flopped to the side and watched as the blood ran down and soaked into his suit.

The bastard got what he deserved.

Wooyoung cleaned his knife of the sleeve of the man's suit before leaning forward and pressing the button hidden under the desk.

An alarm buzzed as he walked down the hallway and locks clicked on each one of the doors he passed.

Fresh air slammed into his face as Wooyoung walked away from the building.

And straight into a police ambush.


	2. Chapter 2

"Ok, you can do this. You can do this." Hongjoong sighed as he let his head rest against the back of his seat.

He had yet to get out of the car even though he arrived at work more than fifteen minutes ago.

This was not what he had envisioned for his life... He shouldn't have to give himself a pep talk every time he got to work just to get himself to go inside.

That's not how this was supposed to go...

But that's what it had come to. That's what the whole world had come to...

For years now, crime had risen out of control. Really it had started several decades ago with major crime bosses started to reemerge in society. They controlled most of the money and paid off everyone they needed to as long as they got what they wanted.

This had trickled over to the police force. There were so many corrupt officers... It made Hongjoong sick.

He sighed as he pulled out his wallet and took out a small photo of a boy and a man in a police uniform. "This would have never happened while you were still in charge, Dad." Hongjoong's forehead creased together as his chest tightened. He had to work to fight back the tears that threatened to break free. "I wish you were here. You'd know what to do." Slowly, he brought the photo to his lips and kissed it before replacing it in his wallet.

Then he forced his door open and stepped out into the brisk morning hair. The hairs on the back of his neck rose as he hurried to the officer entrance to the police station. Part of him regretted cutting his hair, but he needed a change.

Plus he thought that the blue-black shade of his hair made him look more intimidating. Which he needed for how small he was.

The 'X' shaped scar over his right eyebrow helped with that too.

The inside of the station was fairly quiet, as it always was this early in the morning. A few of his fellow coworkers nodded to him as he passed, which he would return before ducking into his office.

Hongjoong wasn't chief of police, yet, but he was one of the leading officers. He worked as both a regular officer and a detective. And he was one of the few who didn't accept bribes to brush clues under the rug.

Because of that he wasn't given many tasks to work, but that didn't stop him from investigating some of them on his own. It's not like his boss cared since he was hardly present...

As he sat at his desk, Hongjoong pulled out a pin pad that scanned his pinky finger on his right hand so it would unlock and boot up his computer. He had picked this finger because most everyone else would choose their thumb or forefinger.

Even if he wasn't recognized as a 'good cop' sometimes because of today's society, Hongjoong always did his best to stay a step ahead of the game. He was smart, and he would remain that way until society righted itself.

But that would mean taking out the major mafia and crime bosses, which was easier said than done. Especially since he'd have a hard time rallying people to his side.

"Morning boss!"

"I told you, I'm not your boss." Hongjoong rolled his eyes as his tall partner practically skipped into the room carrying two cups of coffee. "Yunho, how do you have this much energy this early in the morning?"

The taller chuckled as he sat in the chair opposite Hongjoong and passed him his coffee. "I don't think you want to know." He said with a bright smile.

Hongjoong arched an eyebrow at him. "How many cups."

Yunho pursed his lips and turned a slight shade of pink. "Two." Again Hongjoong gave him a skeptical look. "Ok! Find this is four. Happy now?"

"No." The older said turning back to his computer, but a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth as he saw Yunho cross his arms.

"So what's the plan for today?"

"Dunno yet. They haven't come by with assignments."

Yunho peeked back at the door. "So did you hear the new?" His voice was barely above a whisper.

"What news? And why are we whispering?"

"Because, he got him."

Hongjoong tilted his head for a moment, then his eyes widened. "No."

"Yeah! He turned himself in last night!" Yunho bounced in his hair while running a hand through his floppy brown hair before playing with the small braid in it right above his forehead.

Hongjoong scrambled to open the stations profile page of all the prisoners, and sure enough, there he was.

Park Seonghwa.

He had been hunting for the man for over a year now, but he was well protected by the Wolf Pack mafia. Their symbol was left at every murder, and Hongjoong knew of only one person who had such perfect aim with a gun. "He... Turned himself in?"

That couldn't be true. This man was a stone cold killer. It was an instant death sentence...

"Yeah. He didn't give any information, but the boys that night couldn't exactly turn him away. He's in solitary with the other psychos right now 'cooling off' before chief tries questioning him again." Yunho leaned back in his chair and pursed his lips.

They both knew nothing would come of that. If anything, the chief would be more likely to set Park free before getting any real information from him. For the right price.

"Kim. Jeong. Patrol today." They both looked up to see one of their fellow officers poking his head in. "Chief's orders."

Hongjoong groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. That was his boss' way of saying that he didn't want Hongjoong sticking his nose in where it didn't belong.

Yunho gave him an apologetic smile before walking over to the wall and grabbing the key to their car. Not that they needed one, everything was automatic now, but it was still good to have them as a backup.

Sipping his coffee, Hongjoong slipped into the passenger seat and lifted his arm so the seatbelt could buckle itself while Yunho typed in the start code and the electric engine purred to life.

The one perk of going on patrol was getting to drive around in their high tech car. It was a sleek sports car that was capable of getting over 200 miles per hour on a straightaway. And Yunho was the best driver on the force, so he could keep high speeds even around turns.

There was no one Hongjoong would rather ride with.

"Alright! Today is going to be a good day! I can just feel it." Yunho rubbed his hands together and stuck out his fist, giving Hongjoong a knowing smile. "Ho!"

"Hong!" The older said with a laugh as he bumped his fist against Yunho's. "Alright crazy, let's go see what we can find today."

It really was turning into a beautiful day. The sunlight lit up the entire city as they made their way up and down the streets.

Plants and vines grew up the side of most of the buildings, trimmed to not cover the windows, as an attempt to bring more green back to the world. It gave a fresh look to the city and livened everything up.

And if it wasn't the plants you liked, then it was the colorful billboards that dominated the main streets. They were never turned off, so it was like being in two different cities between daytime and nighttime. And they advertised pretty much everything from coffee to books to guns to clubs.

Hongjoong smiled as they drove past the apartment complex he used to live in with his dad. The green wall was just as beautiful as he remembered. He made a mental note to go back and visit it at some point.

"We got one!" Yunho said as a large truck blew past a red light. Hongjoong flipped the switch to turn on their sirens as Yunho floored it, weaving between the cars to catch up to him.

While the mafia controlled the crime, there were still basic traffic laws everyone still needed to follow, at least according to Hongjoong. He would never go against the rules he was raised to honor and follow.

The man wasn't happy, but thankfully didn't put up a fight when Hongjoong handed him his ticket. "Just drive safe. You're lucky no one was hurt."

"Yes, Officer." The man said with a nod before pulling away and going the speed limit.

The rest of the day was fairly similar. They pulled over two people for speeding, stopped a purse thief, and helped with a minor accident they came across.

It wasn't until the end of the day that things picked up.

The radio switched on automatically, signaling a call from the station. "All units report to base."

Hongjoong and Yunho exchanged a worried glance as he made an immediate u-turn after turning on their sirens again.

When they got to the station, everyone was gathered in the main lobby whispering to each other.

"What's going on?" Hongjoong asked one of his fellow officers.

"I have no idea, we just got here."

Yunho used his height to try and see through the crowd. "I don't see Chief, we must be waiting on him."

Hongjoong was about to speak when a man in a suit walked up to him and motioned for him to follow. He glanced over his shoulder and jerked his head, wanting his partner to watch his back. Something didn't feel right.

They were led into the chief's office and they tried to shut the door on Yunho.

"He stays." Hongjoong said quickly. The Suit sighed and nodded at the other man, who let Yunho slip in before they closed the door.

"The others are getting this news now, but we wanted to tell you in private because it affects you more than the others."

"Who are you, I've never seen you before."

The man gave him a small smile. "I heard you were cautious. That's just what we need." He pulled out his badge, revealing he was a member of the countries head police. They oversaw all the smaller stations as had final say on many important decisions.

"So what is going on Agent Yeo" Hongjoong asked, taking in the man's height and square face. They were about the same height, which made him feel a little better about being the shortest member in the building.

"Your chief was murdered two hours ago."

Yunho gasped and covered his mouth with a shaking hand.

"This was left at the scene." The agent said, holding out a picture with a wolf paw that had been spray painted onto the side of a building. "Any idea why this would have happened?"

"I'm guessing it has something to do with the fact that Park Seonghwa turned himself in a couple nights ago."

"You would be right." Agent Yeo said. "Your chief wanted to release him, but oddly, Park didn't want to go. Plus we told him no. He is too big of a prize to just release. So I'm guessing the Wolf Pack murdered him to send a message."

"No offense, Sir, but he probably deserved it."

Agent Yeo gave him a small smile. "I agree with you. We've been trying to find a way to get that man to step down or arrested for years now, but he's good at covering his tracks."

Hongjoong and Yunho exchanged a surprised look before the taller shrugged.

"So why did you need to pull me aside?" Hongjoong crossed his arms.

"I like you. You're a good officer with morals, and I know you can take this force back in the right direction. Like your father did when he was in charge, may he rest in peace." Agent Yeo said while placing his first to fingers against his lip then grabbing the air in front of him.

Everyone in the room repeated the action. It was a sigh of respect in their culture. A way of saying that the lost are not forgotten and those still alive are reaching to them for guidance.

Hongjoong felt his chest tighten as he closed his eyes while still holding his fist up. He swore that sometimes it felt like something touched his hand while he did this.

"Kim Hongjoong. I pulled you aside because I want you to take over as chief."

Again Yunho gasped while Hongjoong felt his mouth open slightly.

"Help me make this world a better place. I'm guessing this is your partner?" The agent asked, tilted his head back to look up at Yunho.

"Yes, Jeong Yunho. Best driver on the force and the best partner I could ever ask for. I trust him with my life." Hongjoong glanced at the younger and smiled a little as Yunho turned red while looking at the floor and sliding his foot back and forth.

"He'll be a good right hand man then. Now, your new job starts today. You have one week to tell me how you plan to turn this station around. Don't let me down." Agent Yeo said as he bowed his head and walked out of the room.

Hongjoong watched him go, and the only thing that ran through his mind was that he'd done it. Now he could truly make his dad proud.


	3. Chapter 3

Yunho cursed at himself as he juggled several different cups of coffee in his arms. Ever since Hongjoong had taken over as chief, he had become the runner for supplies, and today it was coffee.

He handed one cup to the new secretary that sat right outside the main office, and another one to one of the lead officers before stepping into the chief's office.

Hongjoong lifted his head up and flashed a short smile before returning to the stack of paperwork in front of him.

"Here you go, boss." Yunho said, placing a large cup in front of his friend and then setting the other three he was carrying down on his desk.

"Please don't call me that." Hongjoong said with a groan as he ran his hand through his blue-black hair.

"How can I not? It's ACTUALLY true now! So I can call you boss all I want! What's the plan for today, BOSS? What are we going to do to turn this place around? What's the plan? What can I do to help? Wha-"

"OK!" Hongjoong said, jumping up and walking over to Yunho. "No more coffee for you."

"But I haven't had that much today!" The taller said, feeling a pout crossing his lips.

"Yeah, you always lie about these things so you're cut off." Hongjoong grabbed the three cups of coffee and dumped them out in the sink.

Yunho couldn't help but let out a little whimper as he saw it disappear down the drain.

"Now, to answer some of your questions, my plan for right now is to go through everything and get organized, I want to know who we have in our prisons and who our targets are. I'm not going to hold back like the last chief did. We are going to do things the right way." Hongjoong said, running his finger over his scarred eyebrow.

It was a habit Hongjoong had picked up on shortly after he had received the scar from a gang fight he had gotten into shortly after getting his job with the force. Now he wore it like a badge of honor and seeing him do that always brought a smile to Yunho's face.

"Ok, what have you done so far?" He asked, playing with the braid in his hair and the small medallion at the end of it.

"Well," Hongjoong motioned to a stack of files to his left, "These are the men we have in prison." Then he motioned to an even taller stack on his right. "These are the targets for the area."

"Damn." Yunho said, arching his eyebrows. "Sooooooo what do you want me to do?"

"Whichever you're more comfortable with." The older sighed as he sat back down. "This is probably going to take a couple of weeks for us to straighten out and organize depending on how many interruptions I get. I told the force to try and limit calling me as much as they can until I have this place situated..."

"I'm sure we can handle that. Did you give out assignments for the next few days then?"

"Yeah."

Yunho pursed his lips. "And what do you want me to you? Patrol? Ticketing?"

Hongjoong looked up and gave him a smile. "I don't care what they say, you're still my partner so you're staying right here."

A wide smile crossed Yunho's faced as he jumped up and grabbed some of the files on Hongjoong's right and sorted through them.

It was a tedious task, but he started a system that he felt worked well. He started with sorting them by the major crime they had committed, be it robbery, arson, or murder. Those files he had a hard time reading... How could anyone be so sick and twisted that they would be ok with murdering an innocent person? It made his stomach churn, especially when he thought of...

"Hey," Hongjoong said quickly, giving him a concerned look. "You ok?"

Yunho cleared his throat and nodded before opening the next file.

Gang member. Wanted for arson.

Random kid. Theft.

Old man. Drunk driving.

Mafia. Murder.

Mafia. Murder...

Teenage girl. Prostitution.

Mafia. Murder...

"I need coffee." Yunho said suddenly, pushing himself away from the desk and fleeing the room.

He placed his hand over his heart and grabbed his shirt. He knew a racing heart plus coffee was probably a bad idea, but it was ironically the only thing that could calm him down sometimes.

Yunho walked over to the break room and put on a fresh pot. That was the other thing. The coffee always had to be fresh. He could tell when it wasn't and it was nasty.

His foot tapped rapidly against the floor as he waited for the pot to finish as he picked at his lip nervously while he asked himself the same question he did almost every day.

Why the hell did he become a cop if he was going to have a problem with this?

Because he wanted to see every murderer pay for what they've done.

He wanted justice.

The coffee pot dinged and Yunho quickly poured himself a cup, then added a ridiculous amount of cream and sugar, before he took a long sip and enjoyed the warmth that filled his body as the liquid traveled down his throat.

"That's better." Yunho hummed to himself.

"Are you sure?" Hongjoong asked, suddenly appearing next to him.

Yunho gave him a bashful smile and rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry, you know I have my bad days."

"I know, which is why I wanted to make sure that you're ok. If you need to head home early I'm fine with that."

"Then you'd have to send everyone else home." Yunho said, laughing as he started to walk back to the office. "You can't play that much favoritism around here, Boss." He nudged Hongjoong's shoulder with his elbow, making him roll his eyes.

The duo worked through the rest of the day, and the rest of the week, to clean up the chief's office getting everything organized to Hongjoong's standards.

Most of the officers under him were really supportive of the facelift he was planning on giving the place. They liked the new rules he was creating, well, more like putting back into practice, and did what they could to take care of the streets while he got used to his new position.

Yunho was also pleased to see no one really gave any push back to him being Hongjoong's right hand man. They had been partners for a few years now, but he knew people could be weird about things.

The only downside to Hongjoong being so focused on getting the precinct up and running properly is that it took him off the streets.

Larger crimes were starting to happen again and Yunho could tell it was stressing him out.

After another week, Hongjoong finally felt like he was organized enough that he pulled Yunho into his office and closed the door, meaning it was time for a serious meeting.

"What's going on Joong?" He asked, twirling his coffee cup to keep it stirred.

Hongjoong rubbed his eyebrow as he paced behind his desk for a few minutes. "I have an idea I want to try. It's absolutely bat-shit crazy, but I'm running out of ideas. We are no closer to bringing down any of the minor crime bosses than the day that my dad was chief, and I think we need to try something new."

Yunho raised an eyebrow and looked at him. "Ok... So what's this idea?"

"You believe that people deserve a second chance, right? Or at least deserve the right to try and earn a second chance?"

"Sure?" Yunho tilted his head, trying to figure out where his friend was going with this. He had wide eyes, telling him he had hit the point where the idea really could be crazy. And that usually meant bad news for both of them.

When they were just regular cops, Hongjoong had been impulsive and liked to go against orders to follow his gut and get things done. It worked most of the time, and that's why he was recognized as one of the best, if not the best cop in the precinct, but that only happened because he was damn smart and had good instincts.

Yunho knew to trust those instincts too, but that didn't stop him from feeling nervous. Especially when he saw a stack of files on the older's desk. "Hongjoong. What's going on?"

"You're going to hate this idea, but please, please, pleeeaaaase don't freak out. I feel like we need to try something different if we really want to get control of this world again. And if it blows up in my face then... You can rub it in all you want. I'll stop being a cop. I'll... I'll..."

"Ok, Hongjoong just tell me what the hell you're getting at."

The older sat down and gave him a wide-eyed stared. It was almost like he was the one addicted to and high on coffee...

Yunho set his cup down and pursed his lips.

"I want to offer a deal to some of the inmates we have to help us fight the crime bosses in exchange for their freedom."

Yunho blinked. Several times.

"What?"

Hongjoong sucked in his bottom lip and slowly let it go. "I think... In order to fight criminals like this, we need to work with criminals. They know how the game works better than we ever could. It's something that's never been tried before and I have a way to make sure we stay safe too."

Yunho couldn't believe what he was hearing. He stared down at his coffee, at first wanting to chug it down, but then thought better, wondering if his friend had drugged him.

Work with criminals? The men who they had already caught and put behind bars??

"You're right. This is bat-shit crazy, there's no way this would work! What the fuck are you thinking?" Yunho said, raising his voice and standing up.

"I said don't freak out." Hongjoong pleaded, his eyes getting wide in a different way that had Yunho growling and sitting back down slowly. "Please... Part of what's taken me so long to get organized is I've been looking through all the files of the inmates. I've also been going through all of our contacts and reaching out to some who can help."

Yunho just blinked slowly, waiting for him to get to the point.

Hongjoong huffed and pushed his coffee cup at him. Yunho took it out of instinct and took a sip. "They sent me this." He help out a small, round, silver bracelet. "I had a hard time picking a design, but I wanted something that wasn't too noticeable for when we have to go under cover. But it's programmed with everything we need. It's a communicator, if you run your finger over it," Hongjoong did and a holographic image showed up. "It's got a clock, timer, stopwatch, gps, communicator, tracker, and a way to inject the wearer with an instant sleeping serum."

"Sleeping serum?" Yunho asked slowly as his eyes watched the hologram flicker over the bracelet.

"Yeah, it's my fail safe in case they decide to bolt. You and I will have master bracelets that give us the option to inject them. They will have a constant stream that is pumped into them until we program it to stop."

"How is that supposed to work? There's no way that tiny thing has enough room in it for all that."

Hongjoong chuckled. "It's linked with a vat of it that I have hidden here on site. I'll show you where in a bit, but there was a way to get a teleport link connected between the two. Technology today is so impressive." He said, bouncing in his seat a little. "It's perfect!"

"Have you tested all this out yet?" Yunho rubbed the back of his head nervously.

"Yes. I've been injected several times."

Yunho froze and looked at him. "What? When?"

"At night. I programmed it to inject me at different times, and end it at another time. So we can schedule things like this too. It worked every time. It takes about five minutes for it to enter your system, and then about an hour for you to wake up after the injection stops. So what do you think?"

Yunho glanced down at the bracelet. "What keeps them from taking it off?"

"It's form fitting and cut, slice, snip, slash, burn, clip, pull, twist, and every other word you can think of, proof. Once it's on, you or I are the only ones who can take it off by plugging in a special sequence into our bracelet."

"You keep indicating that I'm going to be doing this with you. What if I don't want to?" The taller asked, crossing his arms.

He watched as Hongjoong's face fell a little, but he quickly covered it up. "I can't make you do it. And I know part of it will make you uncomfortable. But I hope I can count on my partner, and friend, to support me in this."

Yunho let out a long sigh. Guilt trip. Real smooth Hongjoong... He really knew how to twist his arm. "Fine! But if one little thing happens that I don't like, then I'm out. Got it?"

The older flashed him a wide smile. "Excellent."

"I'm guessing you already have some people in mind that will be in charge of torturing for who knows how long?"

"I do." Hongjoong tapped the stack of files in front of him. "I want to go through them with you and get your opinion. The only thing I ask is that you try to keep yourself under control. Ok?"

Yunho knew that only meant one thing. He took a deep breath and nodded. "I'll try."


	4. Chapter 4

Hongjoong tapped on the desk in front of him nervously as he waiting for his fellow officers to come in. Yunho was beside him, his mouth in a hard line as his coffee cup shook in his hand, and Hongjoong didn't know if it was from nerves, or the fact that that was cup number six and it wasn't even ten o'clock in the morning yet.

But today was not a day to scold him for his addiction. Hongjoong knew that this was already hard enough for him since he had a hard time dealing with...

Hongjoong was grateful he was here though. He didn't think he could go through this without his best friend.

They had started interviews at eight that morning. He would have one criminal brought in at a time and ask them a series of questions to see if he and Yunho felt they would 'qualify' for the program.

Although he didn't fully know what he wanted the qualifications to be. Hongjoong was basing a lot of this off his gut, which his father had always taught him to trust.

The door opened and he heard Yunho sigh before taking a deep gulp of coffee. Two officers walked in with a man between them dressed in an orange jumpsuit with his hands chained together. They were also attached to a body chain that wrapped around his torso and also connected down to his ankles, limiting his overall movement.

Hongjoong opened the file in front of him and scanned it as the black haired boy sat in front of him. "Thank you." He said to the officers after they chained his hands to the table. They nodded and stepped outside the room.

The boy stared at them with a questioning look on his round face. "What's this about?"

"My name is Kim Hongjoong. I am the new chief and I want to ask you some questions. Is that ok?"

The boy smirked a little. "Do I have a choice?"

Hongjoong felt the corner of his mouth rise. "No, I supposed you don't. I'll try to make this quick. You are Choi Jongho?"

"Yes."

"And you were arrested for running an underground fighting ring and illegal gambling?"

"Yes."

At least he was honest. Hongjoong like that already. "Did you fight in these rings?"

Jongho arched an eyebrow. "Yes. Occasionally."

Hongjoong glanced at Yunho, who had been studying Jongho, looking for any off signs or tells. While Yunho was a damn good driver, he was also excellent at reading people. His eyes flicked to meet the older's and gave a single nod of approval.

"Thank you, Jongho. That's all for now."

"That's it?" The younger said, looking surprised.

"For now." Hongjoong repeated, pressing the button under the table to signal the officers to come back.

They quickly unchained Jongho and escorted him out of the room while Hongjoong placed his file off to the side.

"Five more." He said, looking at Yunho.

"I know, they get worse from here. I'm ok." The taller nodded, taking another sip. "I'm going to need another cup after this next one though."

Hongjoong smiled and patted his friend's knee as the next one was brought in.

"Kang Yeosang. Hacker, yes?" He asked, glancing up at the prisoner and taking in his square face, birthmark, and light brown hair.

"Yes, Sir." The boy said, his eyes darting around the room. His fingers shook as he played with them on the table. "And a damn good one too."

"I can see that." Hongjoong said, running his finger over his eyebrow. "A lot of successful bank jobs. What did you do with all this money? We weren't able to find any accounts in your name."

He noticed Yunho's leg stop shaking, a sign that he was watching Yeosang closely.

"That's personal." Yeosang said, his face hardening as he looked at Hongjoong. "You guys managed to catch me. How, I have absolutely no idea. But that's all you need to know."

"You got sloppy. That account you were hacking? It was a false one we set up, so you never actually stole anything." Hongjoong watched as Yeosang paled a little.

"I thought it was a little too easy." He mumbled to himself.

Hongjoong watched him for a long moment, then turned to Yunho for his opinion.

Another nod. These were the first two to get his approval.

The next one was going to be tricky. Song Mingi was a master thief. Hongjoong had to admit he was impressed with some of the places he had broken into, but he did have a couple of murders under his belt. Casualties of his break-ins.

"So Mingi, let me ask you something. We know a lot of the places you've hit, but you've left a lot of the valuables behind, only taking a few pieces here and there. Why?"

Hongjoong shivered as the taller let his eyes drift up and down. He felt suddenly very exposed under his intense stare as a small smile crossed his face. "You sure are cute for being chief. How did you get that scar?" He smirked before shaking his head back and forth, effectively fluffing out his maroon colored hair.

"Th-That is irrelevant. Please answer my question." Hongjoong said, feeling heat come to his face. Yunho chuckled next to him and leaned forward.

"I only take what needs to be taken. I've always been that way. I'm not a greedy person, Chief." Mingi tilted his head a little. "I also know how to play the game and get in and out without being noticed, so why would I spend more time than necessary on something that seems pointless?"

He then started to chuckle before holding up his now unchained hands, the keys that the guards were supposed to have dangling from his fingers.

Hongjoong jumped up from his seat, pressing the button as he did, but Mingi just kept his hands in the air. "Just trying to prove a point." He said, now letting his eyes travel over both Hongjoong and Yunho before drifting back to the shorter.

The officers came in and quickly restrained him again, although Hongjoong was pretty sure Mingi could break out again if he really wanted to.

"I like him" Yunho said. "He's ballsy. I feel like we need that for this ridiculous task you have planned."

"True. So another yes then?"

"Yeah. I need a quick break before the last three. Do you want anything?" Yunho asked, staring down at his cup.

"No, I'm good. You've got fifteen minutes."

"Right-o." The taller said, hurrying from the room.

Hongjoong sifted through the last three files. These were going to be the toughest ones to get a pass from Yunho, but he felt they would be good assets for the team. They all had a horrible background and only managed to get caught by chance.

When Yunho returned, he looked nervous. "Are you going to be ok?" Hongjoong asked softly.

"Yeah, I've got this. You can count on me."

"Ok. Let's do this then."

Hongjoong pressed the button under the table and a few minutes later, the next prisoner was brought in.

He looked young, and like someone that could be easily mistaken for an innocent with his wide eyes and soft blonde hair. His eyes quickly flicked over the officers in the room before looking down at the floor. He seemed tense.

"Jung Wooyoung?" Hongjoong got a nod in response. "My name is Hongjoong. I wanted to ask you about yourself. You have a pretty long list to your name. Why?"

Wooyoung lifted his eyes and Hongjoong thought he saw a flash of pain there. "Why does it matter? I killed them, you caught me. I already know the penalty is death. Why do you have to drive the knife in deeper?"

"Interesting play on words since that seems to be your weapon of choice." Hongjoong said, glancing back down at the file in front of him.

The younger let out a little laugh. "Yeah, well. You stick with what you know." There was a sudden dark tone to his voice.

"You know... We only caught you by accident. If we hadn't gotten a tip about that whore house, we would have never have shown up there and you would have gotten away with another murder. We might not have even been able to connect it to you."

Wooyoung pursed his lips at the words. "I always have had bad luck." He muttered, looking down at the table. "Look... If there isn't a point to this, can I go back please? I rather spend my last, whatever I have left, alone."

"Yeah, if that's what you would like." Hongjoong said, his forehead creasing a little. This boy definitely did not give off the vibe of a murderer. He seemed almost scared, but resigned at the same time.

That must have been what earned him a nod from Yunho.

The next one, Hongjoong was particularly curious to speak with. He was the only person he knew for sure was related to the mafia, so he was hoping to get a lot of insider information.

Park Seonghwa had a cold, uninterested look on his face as he was chained to the table. His black hair was messy and covered his left eye.

Hongjoong introduced himself quickly, trying not to feel intimidated by the cold grey eyes looking at him. "Why did you turn yourself in?"

Seonghwa's face didn't change at all as he blinked slowly.

"I asked you a question. Why did you turn yourself in?"

"What do you want with me? Are you wanting to make a deal? I doubt you truly want to bargain with me seeing as you know who I am and what I've done. I already know you want my life, why should I give you anything else."

Hongjoong pursed his lips. The older was definitely smart, and wasn't interested in playing games. "All I want is a simple answer, and then we can be done. Why did you turn yourself in?"

Seonghwa studied him for a long moment, then glanced at Yunho. "I got tired." He lifted his hands off the table, indicating he was ready to leave. "You should lay off the coffee, your eyes are bloodshot... Yunho."

The pair looked at each other in shock as the officers came to collect Seonghwa. How did he know Yunho's name? He had never been introduced in any of these sessions.

"Do you think he had info on us before he turned himself in?" Yunho asked, his eyes wide.

Hongjoong rubbed his eyebrow. "Probably. I wouldn't be surprised."

"I don't like him." Yunho stared into his cup and picked at his bottom lip. "He gives me a bad vibe..."

"I think... He's going to be a hard one to control, but honestly he's our best bet if he is willing to give insider information. Which he might once we offer him the deal. I think we need him." Hongjoong glanced at the taller.

Yunho hissed and ran his hand over his face. "If you say so. Him and this next one I instantly want to say no. I don't trust them. Any of them."

"Neither do I, hence the reason I made the bracelets. But he need to try something."

"I know. I know... Ok. Let's do this."

Hongjoong pressed the button again and their final prisoner was brought in.

He was another one that had an innocent look to his face. He had red and black hair that framed his face a little but also fell into his narrow eyes. And he was trembling.

"Choi San?" Hongjoong asked.

"Y-Yes." The younger answered with a small voice.

"My name is Kim Hongjoong, and I have a few questions for you."

"Ok-k." He looked so small as he cowered in his chair.

"I've looked at your record, and it seems that you've been able to pull off some... Intense break-ins. How?"

"Just skilled I guess." The boy said, looking down at the table. Then he tilted his head away, looking at the wall. "Of course I'm not going to say anything." There was a pause. "No. I won't."

"Excuse me?" Hongjoong said. "No, you won't what?"

"Huh?" San asked, looking back at him with wide eyes.

"You said you weren't going to say anything. What won't you say anything about?" He glanced at Yunho, who was staring at San with a curious look.

"I don't..." San started, but then he turned his head away again. "Yes I know... No, please..." He whimpered.

"San? Are you ok?"

Hongjoong watched as the younger rolled his neck, then looked back at him with a dark gaze. "Yes. I'm fine." His voice seemed different. More... Confident. A sneer crossed his face. "And to answer your question... I don't have an answer. I just do."

"So you make it up as you go along?"

"Yes. We do."

Yunho leaned forward. "We?" He asked.

San turned his head to look at him, his eyes widening a little. "Wh-What?" His voice was timid again.

"You said 'we'. Do you have a partner?"

"N-No!" San said, straightening up as his head twitched. "N-No partner. I work alone. Always h-have." He looked at the wall again. "Just let me do this, please... No I don't know what they want."

Hongjoong looked at Yunho. The taller looked as confused as he felt, but he also looked concerned.

"Yes I'll be strong." San hissed at the wall.

"San?" Hongjoong leaned forward a little. "Be strong for what?"

The younger's head snapped back to him. "S-Strong? Oh, yes, th-that's how I do it. I'm strong." He said, looking down at the table.

Hongjoong didn't believe a word of it, but it was obvious that the boy was uncomfortable, so he pushed the button and had him escorted out.

Then he and Yunho made their way back to his office. "So?" He asked once the door was closed.

Yunho paced back and forth, his hands shaking in front of him as his pace increased. "Well, IF this were to ACTUALLY work... I'd say we have a pretty solid team. I mean we've got a hacker, one or two strong arms, a gun man, thief, and knife man. Plus you and me. Just the eight of us right? You weren't planning on adding anymore?" Yunho was talking a mile a minute, his hands flying in all directions. "I think eight is a good number. Not too many, but a good amount that we cover our bases and have a wide skill set. San seemed off, so we will need to keep a close eye on him. And come up with other rules. And run tests on all of them to find out other strengths and weaknesses. And make sure they can get along. And, and, and, and..."

"Yunho!" Hongjoong finally said, walking over to him and blocking his path so he'd stop pacing. "Breathe."

"Sorry." The taller said, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.

"So?" Hongjoong asked again, arching an eyebrow.

Yunho chewed on his bottom lip. "If we can get them to cooperate..." He flashed his wide, perfect smile. "I think we might have a chance."


	5. Chapter 5

Hongjoong had decided to let the interviews sit for a week to give him and Yunho time to finalize everything they needed.

They went through all the files of their chosen six several times, memorizing every detail they had about them.

Which honestly wasn't much. These six had stayed out of the public eye, as well as didn't have any arrest history. The only reason they could link crimes to them was from the possible slip up with DNA left at the crime scene or eyewitness reports.

Yunho did his best to try not to think about how many people these men had killed that they didn't know about.

Seonghwa's was probably in the hundreds... Especially since they knew for a fact that he came from the local mafia. He had refused to give any information on the other members, which was very valiant of him, Yunho had to admit.

If he really wanted to be an asshole he could have started dropping names to try and buy his own freedom. That's really the only reason he didn't fight Hongjoong on his decision to include him in the team.

Yunho might despise murderers, but he was still a man of honor. And Seonghwa had shown that so far.

He sighed as he twisted the braid in his hair by the medallion weaved into it and licked his lips. The one that had him most curious was either Wooyoung or San.

Wooyoung didn't seem like he was a killer, but he had been seen slitting the throats of a couple men on the street, and then he got caught coming out of a local whore house where they later found the owner in his office with half his head hanging off his neck.

San on the other hand... He was a mystery. After his interview, Yunho had started doing research and thought that the boy might have a mental disorder. He swore San was having two different conversations, one with him and Hongjoong and one... Separate...

It had tugged at his heart when he saw the scared look on the younger when he was pulled back to Hongjoong. He had truly looked lost.

But if he really was hearing... Voices... Yunho groaned at the thought of it. It made everything so much more complicated.

Yunho took a sip of his coffee as he looked at the picture taken of San the night he had been arrested. Maybe it was just stress from being locked up.

Then his eyes drifted down to what he had been arrested for... Beating a man to death with a bat...

Yunho snapped the folder shut and rubbed his eyes. He really needed to stop. It was just going to make him second guess everything. And that's the last thing Hongjoong needed right now.

He glanced over at where the older was sleeping on the couch in his office. Yunho had practically forced him to use the bracelet to put himself to sleep, partially because he wanted to see how it worked for himself, but mostly so Hongjoong would get some actual sleep.

They had spent more time at the office over the past week than they had at their apartments. Yunho kept himself going with his coffee, but when Hongjoong crashed, he got cranky. So having him sleeping was a blessing for everyone in the precinct.

Word of their task had spread and several fellow officers had come to voice their concerns.

Most of them thought they were idiots and threatened to quit if they went through with actually freeing the six prisoners. Hongjoong always told them to do so, he wasn't going to force them to stay. Then he would lay out his plan for them step by step and most seemed to accept it, even if they still didn't agree with it.

Some actually volunteered to help, excited about the new idea. Hongjoong had gladly accepted and said he would let them know if he needed their help.

Yunho glanced at his watch. Hongjoong should be up any time now according to his calculations. That meant it was almost time to get the group together and offer the agreement to the prisoners.

A long groan came from Hongjoong as he stretched on the couch. He sat up slowly then shook his head back and forth. "Wow. That stuff really works. I feel so rested!" He said with a bright smile.

The taller chuckled and gathered up the six files for the prisoners, and then one more where there was a legal document both sides would sign if the deal was accepted. "Good. Are you ready to get started then?"

Hongjoong's smile vanished as he shook his head rapidly again and ruffled his hair. "Yeah. Let's do this." He stood and walked over to his desk and pressed a button on the intercom that went to the cells. "This is Chief Kim. Prepare the prisoners I requested earlier."

"Yes, Sir." The guard on duty answered.

The pair glanced at each other before collecting themselves and heading below ground. All cells were housed underneath the prison to save on space in the city. Interrogation rooms were on the first sub level, and there were ten other levels below it that housed hundreds of cells on each level.

Sadly the place never stayed full because it was so hard to keep criminals behind bars these days. But at least they would be prepared for the day that could happen again.

Hongjoong led the way to Room 1 where they waited patiently for everyone else to arrive.

The prisoners were brought in one by one and pushed into metal chairs that they were then chained to in several places.

Yunho noticed that Mingi had gloves on that forced all his fingers together so he couldn't pickpocket the guards again, who he gave a playful nod as they turned to leave.

Then all six of the prisoners were secured, they looked at each other with curious and confused expressions.

Hongjoong stayed silent for a long moment as he observed them.

The taller had to admit that he was impressed when none of them spoke. Mingi was the only one who had any sign of amusement on his face, San looked nervous, and the other four had stony expressions.

After waiting five minutes, maybe even a little longer, Hongjoong finally nodded and leaned forward. "So. I'm sure you are all wondering why you are here." He started, looking at each one in turn.

They had been set up in a circle with a table to Yunho's back to keep the files on.

"I'm assuming you have more questions for us?" Jongho asked, pursing his lips a little to form a slight pout.

"What, you didn't get enough information from us a week ago?" Wooyoung asked, his eyes darting around the room.

"No I did. I actually wanted to talk to you all again, together this time so I could give you all the information at the same. I want to offer you all a deal."

Mingi let out a loud, booming laugh as his head fell back. "A deal? What on earth could you have to offer us? It's already been made clear that our time is limited cutie."

Hongjoong cleared his throat as his eyes flashed to the floor, making Yunho work to hide a smile. It was hard to make the older flustered.

"Yeah, this is pointless. Just let us go back to our cells to enjoy our last few hours of freedom." Yeosang said, his low voice extended out into a drawl.

"There's nothing you could offer us that would make us give you the information you want." Seonghwa's eyes narrowed as he peered down his nose at them.

"What about your freedom?" Yunho asked, earning the eyes of all six prisoners.

"F-Freedom?" San asked, his eyes widening a little. Then his head twitched as he bent his neck to the side.

Hongjoong nodded, sitting back in his and crossing his arms. "You heard him. We want to make a deal with you. If you keep up your side, then you will be rewarded with your freedom. No strings attached and all police records destroyed as long as you promise to turn away from your life of crime."

"And what is it you'd be wanting us to do?" Seonghwa tilted his head to the side. "You must be pretty desperate to ask us for help."

Yunho pursed his lips as his leg started to bounce quickly.

"What could they want with us?" San whispered as he looked at the floor. "We don't know. But we are curious."

Wooyoung and Yeosang glanced at him as they were on either side.

"Yes, I know. I will find out." San said, his voice even quieter.

Hongjoong ran his hand over his face as he tried to collect his thoughts. "To be honest with you, we are. And we chose you six because of your background and skillset. We want to form a special team to try and fight the crime that is out of control in the city."

The room was silent for a moment before Mingi started laughing again. "You're kidding, right?"

"No, he's not." Yunho jumped in, narrowing his eyes as he came to Hongjoong's defense. "We figure that your minds are already programmed to think along their lines, so you will be able to catch what we miss."

Hongjoong hummed. "I know it sounds backward, but our end goal will be taking out the major mafia leaders here in the city, and maybe even elsewhere."

"Excuse me?" Seonghwa said, raising his eyebrows.

At his accusing tone, Hongjoong stood from his chair and clasped his arms behind his back. "Look. You all made poor life choices. I am offering you a second chance at your life. It's one not often given so I would advise you think about this very carefully."

"I'm sure you are all plotting how you could get away, too." Yunho jumped in. "It will be impossible. If you accept, you will each be given a bracelet that will form to your wrist. In it we have a tracker specifically programmed for each of you. There are some other features as well, like a communicator and GPS. But the biggest thing we have is a serum that will inject itself into your arm and instantly knock you out if you try to escape. So there will be no escaping." He ended with a hard tone to his voice.

Yeosang and Jongho both looked impressed as they processed what he was saying. Yunho could tell Yeosang was trying to work out the puzzle of how the bracelet worked. "And it's hack proof too." Yunho added, looking specifically at the younger.

"Nothing is hack proof." Yeosang said. "But it may be out of my league I'll give you that... I'm in." He added, turning to look at Hongjoong. "I've got nothing else to lose, so why not? If I have a chance at life over certain death then why not?"

"Well put." Mingi hummed, nodding slowly. "I'll do it. Especially if it means I get to see more of you." He said, smirking in Hongjoong's direction.

"Ok, knock it off dude." Jongho rolled his eyes and groaned. "But I'm in too."

Yunho nodded slowly. He had expected those three to jump at the opportunity. Now it was time to see if the others would take the bait.

"I feel like there's a catch." Wooyoung said, peering up at Hongjoong through his eye lashes. "Why would you offer this to someone like me?"

Interesting question... Yunho didn't know how he would answer that, so he turned to Hongjoong.

"Because my gut told me to." The older said, earning a couple of breathy laughs. "I know it sounds ridiculous, but I feel like you deserve a chance. Plus your supposed skill with knives and stealth could be a real asset to the team."

Wooyoung looked at the floor again. "And you'd really give me the chance to start over?"

"What if we don't deserve the chance?" Seonghwa cut him off, his voice deep and cold.

"And why wouldn't you deserve it?" Yunho cocked an eyebrow.

Seonghwa scoffed. "You already know what I've done and where I'm from."

"Everyone deserved a second chance." Hongjoong crossed his arms. "Even you. And if you join, you'd earn it a little more because we are hoping that, even if you don't give names, you can give us a view into the world of gang and mafia life so we can get a better understanding of it."

"So you want me to be a snitch?"

"Essentially, yes." Yunho sighed. Damn he needed coffee... He could feel his stress level rising.

Hongjoong looked at him and raised his eyebrows, knowing exactly what he was thinking. And the look in his eye told Yunho that he would personally get him a cup when this was over.

Thank. God.

Seonghwa stuck the tip of his tongue out and ran it over his lips. "And you guarantee that you will let me go in peace?"

"We even have a document for you to sign. A legal, binding document." Hongjoong grabbed the folder and held it up.

"What if we change our mind?" Wooyoung asked, his eyes trained on the document.

"If you decide to back out, then you will be brought back here and you'll be in the same position that you're in right now." Hongjoong said bluntly, shrugging his shoulders.

The room fell into silence again.

Then San spoke up, his voice stronger than before. "And what is it you would have us do?"

"Well, we'd go through a skills test so we can determine strengths and weaknesses. Then based off that we will assign positions in the team. We will start small and work our way up."

"So there will be a lot of killing?" San asked, tilting his head back and narrowing his eyes.

Yunho's stomach flipped at his words.

"N-No. No killing please." The other stuttered, changing his tone immediately. Then his head turned to the side and he started muttering to himself.

"We..." Hongjoong cleared his throat as he eyed the younger. "We want to keep bloodshed at a minimum, but I don't think it will be completely avoidable."

That was the other hard part about this. Yunho and Hongjoong knew they might have to get their hands dirty. Not that it wouldn't happen during an everyday thing either if they were trying to stop a robber or something.

But they both knew this would be different.

"Cops are willing to get their hands dirty?" Seonghwa chuckled a little. "Fine. I'll give it a go."

"If it means creating a better world for future generations? Yes." Hongjoong said, answering his question as he nodded in approval. "Wooyoung? What do you say?"

The young sighed, puffing out his cheeks. "Yeah, I'm in."

"San?" Yunho asked, making the boy look at him.

For a second there was a lost look in his eyes. Then it was instantly gone and a cold gaze formed. "We... I'm in."


	6. Chapter 6

"I want rooms five, seven, nine, and eleven set up to these specifications." Hongjoong said to the officers in front of him. They were some of the few that supported this idea, so he knew he could count on them so do things right.

They nodded and hurried out of his office.

Yunho walked in at the same moment, blowing the steam away from his cup. "Hey Joong. Getting everything ready?" He asked, lifting an eyebrow as the other officers walked by.

"Yeah. I want to run a few training courses to see what their strengths and weaknesses are. I know we know a few of them already, but if we are going to do this we need to know their weaknesses more than anything. That way we can keep them out of situations that could put them in danger."

The taller hummed and came to stand next to him. "Well I can already guess and say that Yeosang isn't a fighter."

Hongjoong chuckled. "I agree. But he should be taught how to defend himself. You and I will go through some training too. So we can brush up on our skills."

"Yeah that's probably a good idea. We can't be making a fool of ourselves in front of a bunch of criminals." Yunho said with a smile, although Hongjoong heard a sarcastic note to his voice.

The older just rolled his eyes slightly and looked down at the six files in front of him. His small, meticulous notes covered every inch of their prison bio. He had been jotting down thoughts and observations since he first interviewed them. "So if you were to build the team right now, what would you do? What is your instinct?"

Yunho picked at his lip and sat on the other side of the desk, swirling his coffee in circles. "It's kind of hard to say right now, but from what I know about them... Honestly, like I said, Yeosang isn't a fighter. So I'd set him up in a safe room somewhere so he could be our 'eye in the sky' so to speak. I'd probably leave... Jongho behind to protect him. He seems observant and like he would make a good wall if needed. I'm assuming he's a good fighter too if he was able to start that fighting ring."

Hongjoong nodded along with him. That had been his first instinct with those two as well. This is why he and Yunho made such a good team. They had a lot of the same thoughts, but Yunho was able to tame some of his impulsive nature while he helped get Yunho out of his comfort zone.

"Seonghwa would probably switch between two positions. If he is as talented with guns as we think he is, then he could be useful both up front while in the buildings as well as providing cover from a sniper position. Mingi and Wooyoung would be our front line. Both seem like they are stealthy enough, and Wooyoung would be good at the sneak attacks while Mingi could get us into places. And San..." Yunho paused. "I have no idea with him. I suppose that we will find out as we go through training."

"Perfect. I think that sounds like a good set up too. And that's what I was going to gear the training toward as well. But like I said, I want to try and fine-tune their abilities too so they aren't left undefended."

Yunho hummed in agreement as he gulped down the rest of his coffee. If he didn't seem to need it to function Hongjoong would have gotten rid of the coffee machine a long time ago. But a coffee deprived Yunho was not a good person to be around...

Hongjoong shuddered at the thought and pinched the bridge of his nose. This had to work. He didn't know what he would do if it didn't.

It didn't take long for the training rooms to get set up. While they were, the pair decided to have them go through the training course in pairs, so that way they could start to learn to work as a team, but they didn't have to manage all six prisoners at once.

It was time to get things started.

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.

.

.

Yeosang looked around the big room nervously. The walls were all white and there was a large mirror behind him. He knew it wasn't really a mirror, but there was no sense in bringing it up. Cops really weren't as smart as they liked to pretend to be.

He looked down at his twitching hands and sighed. He called it his 'hacker's twitch'. His hands were so used to typing at a keyboard that when they became idle they grew restless.

But this isn't exactly what he wanted to do to help his hands out.

Yeosang had been brought in front of a table full of weapons. There was everything from a small knife to a large shotgun. He thought he even recognized a machine gun, but honestly he couldn't care less.

Guns had never been his thing.

And he knew he was the only one that had been selected who had never killed anyone.

It was kind of intimidating if he was being honest with himself.

The door to the room opened and Seonghwa was brought it.

Yeosang felt the color drain from his face at the idea of being compared at a weapons test to... To... To this mass murder.

The older's lip curled a little as he looked down at Yeosang. Both were forced to stand next to each other, still bound in chains, as Hongjoong and Yunho walked up to them slowly.

"Alright," The chief said, studying both of them. "Today you will start wearing your bracelets. Once I have them on then you will be released from the chains from here on out. As long as you follow the rules, you won't be harmed."

Yeosang nodded quickly and held up his joined arms as Yunho approached him. The officer held up a key to unlock his right wrist. Then he slowly slipped the thin silver bracelet on, pulled up the keypad in one smooth wave of his hand, and entered in a code. The bracelet shrunk and immediately formed to Yeosang's wrist.

"The unlock code is different than the access code, so even though you just saw that, don't think you can get this off." Yunho said with a sly smile as he unlocked the rest of the chains.

Yeosang sighed as they dropped to the floor and he rolled his shoulders. "Thanks."

Yunho arched an eyebrow as he moved over and did the same thing for Seonghwa.

The officer seemed like a decent person, although Yeosang could tell he was guarded. He definitely had a past that he kept hidden. Hongjoong must know about it because he was watching Yunho like a hawk right now, as if the taller was going to suddenly freak out or break.

"Ok." Yunho said after picking up both sets of chains and putting them in a box. "Show us what you can do."

"What?" Yeosang asked, his eyes widening in fear.

"We just want to see an example of your skill set. Try out a few different weapons and show us what you can do." Hongjoong said from where he was leaning against the wall. He ran one hand over his scarred eyebrow and propped one foot against the wall.

Next to him, Seonghwa shrugged and walked up to one of the hand guns. He spun it around his finger then quickly fired off six rounds.

Yeosang flinched at each one, then felt his jaw drop a little when all six shots overlapped each other at the center of the target. "Wow." He whispered before looking at the guns. His heart started to pound at the thought of actually firing one.

A gentle hand touched his shoulder and he looked up to see Seonghwa looking down at him with his stone gray eyes.

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.

.

It was obvious that the small hacker had never fired a gun before. And really it didn't surprise Seonghwa. His hands were too perfect. He would be covered with scars and burns if he actually handled weapons.

He didn't know why, but he found himself placing a hand on Yeosang's shoulder. "Here. Start with this one."

Seonghwa picked up a small pistol and handed it to the boy.

What a pain. But this is probably why the chief paired them together. His strength was Yeosang's weakness.

But if he was going to earn his freedom, Seonghwa knew he needed to be a team player. Plus the faster the others learned, the faster they could potentially get this done.

He saw Hongjoong shift out of the corner of his eye, but ignored it to continue showing Yeosang how to hold the gun.

After demonstrating each step, Seonghwa would then lean forward and inspect Yeosang's hands to make sure they were in the proper place. He also worked on Yeosang's stance.

"Ok, now put it all together and gently pull the trigger." He coached, taking a step back to observe.

He watched as Yeosang exhaled and tried to steady his shaking hands. Then he started to put pressure on the trigger, but it ended up being a little too much.

The gun with off and the rebound made Yeosang's hands fly up so the bullet embedded itself into the wall instead of the target. Yeosang yelped and scrunched his eyes shut while backing away.

Seonghwa ran forward immediately and took the gun from him. "Ok. This is definitely not for you. Never close your eyes while holding a gun. Especially with how jumpy you are right now." He scolded.

Yeosang flinched away from him and quickly backed away. "S-Sorry. I didn't mean to."

Yunho rushed to his side and placed a large hand on his shoulder. "Deep breath."

Hongjoong was there too, standing off to the side and watching every move they made. "Can you try again?"

Yeosang looked at his with wide eyes.

"You're kidding, right?" Seonghwa said, crossing his arms.

"No. I'm not." Hongjoong said before locking eyes with Yeosang. For how small the chief was, he sure knew how to be intimidating. "You need to learn how to defend yourself. I know your skill is hacking, and we fully intend on using it. But if your location is discovered you need to be able to defend yourself."

He had a point. If they were really going to be doing dangerous things like taking on gangs and his father's mafia, then it was almost guaranteed that Yeosang would be discovered at some point. It didn't matter how good he was.

"You're only one person." Seonghwa said, speaking his thoughts. "If we go up against bigger groups they could have a group of hackers trying to fight against you. Hongjoong is right. Come on. Let's try again."

Yeosang nodded slowly and held out his hand.

The kid had guts. That earned him a few points in Seonghwa's book.

They spent a few hours in the room teaching the hacker how to use a few different guns. He got to the point where he was comfortable with firing it and didn't flinch as much when the shot happened. He still couldn't aim, but he was at least hitting the target. It would be enough to slow an attacker down at least.

Hongjoong also pulled Seonghwa aside to see how he was at handling knives, swords, and other close up combat weapons.

It had never been his strong suit, but Seonghwa's father had made sure he was trained and proficient in all forms of weapons.

That seemed to please the chief. He made several small comments about how impressed he was.

"Are you going to want me to train the others?" Seonghwa asked, twirling a pistol around his pointer finger.

Hongjoong rubbed his eyebrow nervously before he spoke. "Possibly, if that's ok with you. We'll see though. I think our plan is to do other testing like this with the other four, and then we will do some group activities. I have no intention of sending you in unprepared."

Seonghwa nodded slowly. He could see why the shorter was made chief. He had good leadership instincts and Seonghwa could tell he was passionate about this mission.

Maybe this really would be the way his father would finally be taken down.

Seonghwa couldn't decide if he was ok with that or not...


	7. Chapter 7

When Mingi was brought into the training room, the first thing he noticed was Hongjoong standing in the corner of the room.

He didn't know why, but he found himself drawn to the older male like he had never been drawn to someone before.

It almost scared him, but he had fun teasing the older too. He was cute when he got flustered. 

When the door opened again he was surprised to see Jongho being brought in too. The younger male was intimidating with his toned arms and scowl.

"Are the others coming too?" He asked, glancing at where Hongjoong and Yunho were whispering to each other.

"No. It's just you two today." Yunho said, glancing at them. "We are starting in groups to get a feel for your abilities. This isn't going to be a one and done process." He explained as he walked over.

Yunho motioned for Mingi to lift his wrists and he unlocked his right manacle but kept the special gloves they forced him into whenever he left his cell. It just made him smirk. All it took was one time for him to pickpocket a guard.

The bracelet was slipped onto his wrist and then Jongho's before they were released from their chains.

"Like we said before, this is something you won't be able to take off yourself. Only Hongjoong or myself can. Now before you, you'll see a variety of locks. This test is more for Jongho's sake than Mingi's but we still want to see what you can do."

Mingi shrugged and walked over to the table. Piece. Of. Cake.

All the locks there were something he could pick in seconds.

But he did notice Jongho staring at them with wide eyes. The younger picked up one of the locks and studied it for a moment, turning it slowly in his hands. His lips were pushed forward in a slight pout as he studied it. "You can actually open this?" He asked, looking up at Mingi.

Without saying anything, Mingi took the lock from him, picked up a paperclip and twisted it to his liking before inserting it in the lock. It was like he could feel every little piece of the lock through the metal pick in his hand as he twisted it around.

In just a couple of seconds, the lock clicked open.

Jongho's eyebrows rose in surprise as Mingi clicked the lock shut and handed it back to the younger. "How did you do that?" He asked, taking the paperclip and inserting it into the hole.

"Lots of practice." Mingi chuckled. Then he looked over his shoulder. "Do either of you know how to pick a lock?"

Yunho and Hongjoong exchanged a glance before they walked over.

"It's a useful skill to have with what we will be doing." Mingi said as he picked out three other similar locks and handed them to the two officers. "It's all about small movements and feeling the pressure of the lock. If you push the pick too much, it could bend or break. Watch."

Mingi tested out the lock in his hand, closing his eyes. This one was a little trickier, but he still had it open in a matter of seconds.

He watched as the three of them worked on their locks. Jongho broke two paperclips before he managed to pick it. "Good! You just need to be a little softer in your touch." Mingi praised, handing him another one.

Yunho also managed to pick his as well. He moved to lean over Jongho and watch him work on the new lock.

Mingi took advantage of this moment to move a little closer to Hongjoong. The older had his head tilted to the side and his tongue was trapped between his teeth as he worked at the lock.

"Here." Mingi said, gently placing his hands over Hongjoong's. "You're being rough. Like this." He moved in a little closer and slowly guided Hongjoong through picking the lock. It was a little strange not being able to directly feel the lock himself, but he felt his heart start to beat faster as he stood there with the chief.

What the hell was wrong with him?

He could feel Hongjoong tense at his touch and expected him to pull away, but for some reason he didn't.

When the lock clicked open, Hongjoong jumped a little and a slight blush came to his face. "See? Easy. You just need to be gentle and work with the lock, not against it." Mingi whispered before taking a step back. "Now you try on your own."

"Ok." Hongjoong nodded in determination. He picked up a slightly larger lock and a metal pick that looked like a file on one end but had a sharp slightly pointed hook on the other. He worked it slowly back and forth, doing exactly what Mingi had walked him through doing the first time.

After a couple of minutes, the clock clicked open again, before Jongho's second lock, and Hongjoong cheered.

Mingi felt a burst of pure joy run through him at the sight of Hongjoong's and he cheered with him, stooping down to pick him up and spin him in a circle. "You did it!"

That drew the attention from the other two and he heard Yunho snap at him.

Hongjoong also cried out at his feet suddenly not being on the ground and yelled, "Put me down! What on earth are you doing?" He slapped at Mingi's hands and fumbled with his own wrist right as Mingi set him down and back up.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to, I-" He felt a sharp prick to his skin and looked down at his bracelet. Then he looked up at where Hongjoong was hiding behind Yunho and Jongho was standing off to the side.

Mingi's vision started to blur, then his world went black.

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San glanced up when he heard the lock to his prison door click.

 _Steady_.

A couple of guards came in, eyeing him nervously as they attached all sorts of chains to his body. 

He knew he deserved it, but he hated the feeling all the same.

_Just take this slow. We need to test the waters. We will get our chance._

San whimpered and nodded, earning a couple of looks from his guards as they led him from the room.

He really wanted this deal to work. Dying in this prison is no something he wanted to do with his life. They said he killed someone with a bat... He didn't remember doing it but it would make sense.

He never remembered what he did.

Not if _they_ didn't want him to.

**_Don't be such a pussy._ ** _We block out those memories for you sake. You should be grateful._

"I am..." San whispered, looking down at the floor.

"You are what?" One of the guards asked, making San flinch and shake his head.

He was grateful. _They_ protected him. _They_ kept him safe and led him to food. _They_ blocked unhealthy memories. _They_ cared for him when no one else did.

San blinked several times as he was pushed into a room.

Hongjoong and Yunho were waiting for him, and he noticed the boy named Wooyoung was there as well. The boy was looked around the room but his eyes kept darting to the table where an array of knives had been set up.

_So willing to trust us._

San felt his head twitch and his mind to fuzzy for a second before he shook it and looked back at the officers.

Yunho looked nervous. His large hands were shaking as he took a sip from his cup. No, several sips. Then he set the cup down and walked over to Wooyoung first. "You're getting your bracelets today. Again, you won't be able to break them, pick them, or unlock them."

_We'll see about that._

"We are trusting you. If you want your freedom, you have to earn it. We are just providing you with the first step." He said.

Wooyoung eagerly held up his hands and accepted the bracelet. As soon as his chains were unlocked, he kicked them away and took a few steps back, an instant look of relief crossing his face.

_Interesting. Pretty boy doesn't like being contained. We can use this._

"Leave him alone."

"What was that?" Yunho asked as he approached San.

His head flew up in response and he shook his head quickly. "N-Nothing." He held up his hands slowly and looked back down.

Yunho's fingers were... Gentle... As they worked at his wrists. And again when he slipped the bracelet on, then unchained him fully.

"Ok, show us what you can do."

San turned toward the table. Wooyoung was already there, carefully running his hand over the blade of a knife he had picked up.

An almost... gleeful look was in his eyes as he held the knife. Then he picked up three more and threw all four in quick succession at the far end of the room. San watched as they all landed on or near the center of the target.

_Show them what we can do._

San bit his lip and reached for a knife. It melded to his hand perfectly, like it was made for him.

_That's it._ **_Show them._ **

"But I'm supposed to get them to trust me." San whispered, moving to put the knife down.

**_Don't be a weakling._ **

San's head shook again as a fog seemed to cross in front of his eyes.

Then he glared at the target and picked up four of his own knives. He copied Wooyoung's movements almost perfectly, except his knives all landed at the center of the target.

"Wow, you're good." The younger said, his mouth open slightly as San threw five move. Two at the head, two at the groin, and one more at the center.

Then Wooyoung did the same, focusing on matching the targets that San had hit.

Suddenly it was a competition between the two.

San sneered and laughed darkly when Wooyoung slipped up and his last knife, number twenty, fell to the floor after not hitting a target.

"We win." He said, twirling a knife between his fingers.

"We?" Wooyoung turned to him and tilted his head.

San could see the cops watching them from the corner of his eye but chose to ignore him. "You think you're hot stuff, don't you? But you've shown your weakness today." He hissed, making sure only Wooyoung could hear him.

The younger looked stunned and his forehead creased. "What are you talking about?"

San smirked again, wanting nothing more than to test the limits of the boy and see what it would take to make him snap.

So he leaned forward and whispered. "The chains. We saw how you reacted to having the chains taken off."

Wooyoung paled and reached for the table. Picking up a knife and turning back to the targets. He was starting to shake.

"We know you don't like being contained. Why is that?"

He didn't get an answer. Instead Wooyoung tried throwing a few more knives at the targets. They hit with deadly precision.

So rage fueled him. Good to know.

"Have you been imprisoned before?

The younger flinched and started to turn toward the cops.

"We think you're nothing but a sniveling little whore to be afraid of chains like that." San hissed.

The air in the room seemed to change as Wooyoung's back straightened.

"Is everything ok over there?" Hongjoong asked, stepping forward slowly and pulling up the screen on his own bracelet.

San swayed and clutched at his head. Then he looked down at the other end of the room and saw the targets filled with knives.

Did he do that?

There was a scream.

San looked up just in time to see Wooyoung spinning around, holding a knife high above his head.

_Jump to the side!_

He obeyed, jumping out of the way and into something solid but soft.

Wooyoung's scream became strangled as he fell to the floor and didn't get up.

San whimpered and clung to whatever he was leaning against and felt a pair of arms wrap around him. "Are you ok? What happened?"

It was Yunho.

"I don't know..." San said, burying his face in Yunho's chest. He could feel the older tense a little, but he didn't remove his arms as San started to sake. "What did you make me do?" He whispered.

"What?" Yunho asked, craning his neck to look down at him.

_We have to find out how to get out of here. We are working to protect you. We are always working to protect you. We love you, San._


	8. Chapter 8

Wooyoung woke up suddenly and sat up. He felt oddly refreshed but confused as he looked around.

He was back in his jail cell, on his bed, and away from San.

Hongjoong must have used the sleeping serum on him as he was running for San... Wooyoung knew he shouldn't have done that, but part of him couldn't help it. Those words...

Whore.

_Whore._

"No! I'm not!" Wooyoung shouted, punching his pillow as hard as he could. A few tears rolled down his cheek as he tried to get the thought out of his head. "I-I'm n-n-not..."

The door to his cell opened and Wooyoung turned to see both Yunho and Hongjoong walked in. They didn't look happy.

Hongjoong slammed the door behind him and glared down at Wooyoung. "What happened in there?"

Wooyoung found himself shrinking back under his harsh gaze and looked down at the floor. He hated that it was an instinct to look down whenever he felt intimidated.

"We are going to ask you one more time. I know we are all learning to work together, but I wasn't expecting an incident on the first day."

"Just tell us what happened so we can prevent it from happening again." Yunho said, coming to sit next to the younger on the bed.

Wooyoung brought his knees to his chest and stared at them. "It's like he was two different people. I... I don't know how to explain it. But he started..." Wooyoung swallowed the lump in his throat. "I don't think he's stable enough to have on the team. It sounded like he was looking for... For my weakness."

He saw the two cops exchange a glance out of the corner of his eye, but ignored it. Instead he focused on trying to stay out of the dark place he went to.

Whore.

He shook his head. No, he wasn't one... He wasn't...

"Wooyoung?" Yunho said softly. He reached out and placed a hand on Wooyoung's knee.

The younger would have flinched away if he wasn't already pressed against the wall. But at the same time... It felt nice. He could feel the concern radiating off Yunho.

"He called me a whore."

"You said it was like he was a different person?" Yunho asked, squeezing Wooyoung's knee gently.

"Yes. He seemed to be there, and then it was like he was someone different. And he kept saying 'we'. I'm sorry that I snapped. I promise I didn't mean to." Wooyoung finally forced himself to glance up and look at Hongjoong. He could hear his voice shaking. "Please don't leave me behind..." He whispered, bowing his head again.

"Wooyoung, we never said anything about leaving you behind. We just wanted to see what happened so we can get things straightened out." Hongjoong said, his voice softening along with his gaze as he crouched in front of Wooyoung.

Yunho moved a little closer. "We didn't expect things to go perfectly right of the bat. That would be ridiculous. Are you ok?"

Wooyoung snorted and looked down at the ground again. He was never going to be ok... Never...

"Yeah, I'm fine." He glanced up at the two in front of him.

"Ok. Get some rest, we will try another round of training tomorrow." Hongjoong said as both he and Yunho stood to leave.

Wooyoung nodded and closed his eyes as Yunho's hand left his knee and he suddenly felt better, yet so empty at the same time.

The tears came as soon as the lock clicked.

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.

Yunho picked at his lip as he walked down the hall next to Hongjoong.

"So what do you think?" The older asked, glancing up at Yunho.

"I think I know what he's talking about. I went over the footage from the room and... I think I saw that change Wooyoung was talking about."

Hongjoong sighed. "So what should we do?"

Yunho glanced down and saw Hongjoong rubbing his eyebrow as they walked. He placed a comforting had on the older's shoulder. "I'll handle it."

"What?" Hongjoong glanced up at him. "No, I can't ask you do that."

"I want to." Yunho said, glancing at the ground. "You know I can kind of sympathize with him."

Great... That was the worst thing he could have said and he knew he was about to get a pep talk from his friend now. But he couldn't help it. It was true though.

And just as he predicted, Hongjoong pulled Yunho into his office and locked the door behind them. "You did not just say that."

Yunho took a deep and looked down at his shaking hands. "I did. And I meant it. He has the same look in his eyes that Yuri did." As he said this, he placed his fingers against his lips then reached out in front of him and grabbed at the air.

Hongjoong repeated the same action, which Yunho appreciated, then hopped up to sit on his desk. "And that's the reason why this makes me uncomfortable. You can't let your emotions take over just because you want to try and help him."

"But what if I'm the only one who can? I don't think he registers what happens half the time."

"Which I think makes his... Condition worse that Yuri's. I know she was diagnosed with severe bipolar disease, and the doctors were looking into the multiple personalities before she died... But there was never any conclusive evidence." Hongjoong said softly.

Yunho's vision started to blur as he sat down in the chair in front of Hongjoong.

"I'm surprised you even want to help him in the first place, if I'm being honest. I know how you feel about..."

"But if he's really sick like this, then the real San might not have known what he was doing."

"Yun..." Hongjoong sighed. "You're treading a really thin line."

He knew he was. There were so few documented and studied cases of multiple personality disorder that there was no way to tell if it was really what San had. It could be schizophrenia too. But Wooyoung said he spoke saying 'we' a lot. And they had all seen San talking to himself.

Whatever it was, Yunho found himself wanting to at least try.

The pair sat in silence for a long time. This was just making their mission a bit more complicated. But... Even if San couldn't be a part of the team, he deserved a chance to be happy. Right? But if he really was the one to kill all those people...

It was all so confusing, and it hurt.

Yunho stood up and walked out of the office, knowing that Hongjoong wouldn't try to stop him. Not right now.

He walked to the break room and put on a fresh pot of coffee, waiting anxiously for it to brew as he clenched his hands.

This was crazy. Did he really think he could help a mass murderer? Someone who could be worse than Yuri?

Her bright smile flashed across his vision. Everyone had always said they could be twins even though she had been five years older than him. Yuri had always been such a bright, positive person. She loved to sing and dance, something the two of them used to do together often. And her laugh could light up a room.

Until 'the flip' happened, as Yunho called it.

Yuri would suddenly turn violent, often times throwing plates or other dishes at him before resorting to hitting him whenever he tried to restrain her. She would scream and scream until her voice cracked, then scream some more. And most of the time she would yell things like how much she hated him and wanted him to die.

Her episodes were never the same length either.

Hongjoong had witnessed a couple of them when Yunho first joined the force. They had been out on patrol together when Yunho got a call that officers were needed at his house.

He had always beat the ambulance there was able to restrain his sister. But it wasn't easy.

Things had been so unpredictable too, so they had had a long conversation one day while she was Yuri and she begged him to get a job and live his life.

She was taking medication to try and balance out her emotions and brain chemistry, and it worked most of the time. But if she wasn't on time when taking her pills every day, that's when she was more likely to have an episode.

Once again, Yunho placed his fingers against his lips and grabbed at the air. "I miss you Big Sis..." He whispered before pouring a cup of coffee.

He drank one while standing in front of the pot, letting its warmth seep into him.

He drank a second one while searching through his phone for a contact. After pressing dial, he waited with baited breath as it rang.

"Hello?" The deep male voice he knew so well said on the other side.

"Hey Doc, it's Yunho."

"Yunho? God, how long has it been?" The man said, exhaling sharply.

"Three years. I... I have a favor to ask. Can you come by the precinct? And... Bring your files."

"What's going on?"

"I need you to do an evaluation for me on one of the inmates. Please?" Yunho asked, his voice getting soft.

He heard the doctor sigh. "Yeah. I can be over in just a bit."

"Thank you." Yunho hung up the line and went to tell the front desk to expect a Dr. Kim Namjoon before he returned to the break room to pour cup number three.

Slowly but surely, he felt his nerves calming as he sipped on this cup. Soon he was calm enough that he asked for San to be brought to one of the interrogation rooms.

Hongjoong and Yunho greeted Dr. Kim as soon as he was checking in and filled him in on what's going on. His eyes widened in surprise when he was told about their plan with the team, but then his forehead creased with concern when they told him about San.

"Ok, I'll take a look." He said, following Hongjoong into the room on the other side of the one way mirror joined with the room San was in.

Yunho topped off his coffee before stepping inside.

His heart broke a little when he saw the concerned look on San's face. "Am I in trouble? I did something to Wooyoung, didn't I?"

"You don't remember?" Yunho asked, keeping his voice calm and gentle as he sat across the table from San.

He was free of chains since he had his bracelet now, so Yunho was still able to relax knowing Hongjoong was watching everything and was ready to inject San if needed.

"No... Well. I remember going into the room and watching him throw knives. Then..."

"Nothing? You don't remember calling him a whore?"

A frightened look crossed his face and he covered his mouth.

"I'll take that as a no." Yunho said softly. "It's ok San. I want to try and help you."

The younger looked down at the table and whimpered, then turned his head to the side. "They are supposed to be my team. I can't hurt my team."

Yunho sat back and watched as a pained looked crossed the other's face.

"I know. I know... But..."

Then his head twitched and he rolled his shoulders. He lifted his head up and locked eyes with Yunho. His eyes were cold and black now as they narrowed. "We didn't mean to offend. Please let us apologize to the boy."

"We?" Yunho asked, sitting up a little straighter.

"I-I. I didn't mean to offend." The younger corrected. A small sneer crossing his face.

"San, are you ok?"

"San is... I am fine. Just tired from training. May I go rest now please?" His voice seemed forced and his head kept twitching.

Yunho clenched his jaw. "Whoever you are controlling San, I want you to leave him alone. You can't win this."

The younger started laughing and his head fell back.

Yunho jumped out of the chair and ran to him. He placed his large hands on either side of San's face. "San. San listen to my voice. Come back San."

San twitched in his hands and his eyes closed for a long moment before they opened up to reveal pale blue eyes. "Y-Yunho? What happened? What did I do?" He whimpered before clinging to Yunho by wrapping his arms around him.

Yunho held him close and gently stroked the back of his head. "Shhh, it's ok." He glanced over his shoulder at the mirror, knowing that Dr. Kim and Hongjoong were standing on the other side watching this.

He took San back to his cell and got him tucked into bed before walking back to Hongjoong office.

Dr. Kim was pacing back and forth slowly while muttering to himself.

"Well?" Yunho asked after closing the door.

"You were right to call me. I think we've definitely got a severe case on our hands. And this isn't the first time you've witnessed this? What is he in here for?"

"Murder." Hongjoong said, crossing his arms. "But he doesn't seem to remember them."

The doctor nodded. "Yes. And I'm guess you want to treat him?" He asked, raising an eyebrow as he looked and Yunho.

"Please. He deserves a chance."

Dr. Kim sighed and pulled out his phone. He called the local pharmacy and ordered a few different prescriptions and asked that they be delivered to the precinct. "I'll want to examine him as often as you'll let me." He said, turning to Hongjoong.

He nodded and glanced at Yunho. "Do you really think it's worth it?"

"You're the one who saw something in him and wanted to interview him for the team." Yunho shot back, not wanting Hongjoong to question his decision to help.

"I know. But I didn't think it would be this bad." Hongjoong mumbled while rubbing his eyebrow.

"Well until we know if the medication will help, I'd advise keeping him away from any action and keeping a watchful eye on him." Dr. Kim said, glancing at both of them. "I'll be in contact to set up a schedule with you." He shook their hands then left.

The pair let out a collective sigh.

"Thank you." Yunho said quietly.

"You know I will always support you." Hongjoong walked over and took his hand. "But if he becomes a danger to any of us, especially you, I won't hesitate to take action."


	9. Chapter 9

"Is this information accurate?" Hongjoong asked, staring down at the piece of paper in front of him. It had details about a hinted attack on a local gun shop. Something about a supply run for one of the smaller gangs in town.

"I believe so. It was just emailed to me five minutes ago." The officer said, nodding as he spoke.

"Thank you. I will get a group together." Hongjoong dismissed him and started pacing the room.

This would be a perfect test. The prisoners were still new, but they had done well in pairs so far. San had been benched for the time being, but Hongjoong had used Yeosang and Jongho a little more to fill in the gap.

The five of them seemed to be getting along well so far and were learning from each other quickly.

Yeosang was still timid when it came to using weapons, but he had learned enough to at least defend himself and that was a start.

Jongho had been giving fighting lessons. The fact that he owned a fighting ring was evident because he was a really good teacher. Everyone seemed to pick up from him quickly.

For something like this, Hongjoong felt that four total should be enough to get the job done. It sounded like a small job. He pulled out his phone and sent a quick text to Yunho to have him come to the office.

The taller had been all over the place since Dr. Kim had confirmed his suspicions about San. It worried Hongjoong that his friend was suddenly so involved with the younger... He was still a murderer, even if he couldn't remember doing it. They had found proof of his prints at several crime scenes.

"What's up?" Yunho said as he popped into the office.

"I think we have our first test for a team." Hongjoong looked up at him and held out the piece of paper.

Yunho's eyes actually lit up a little as he read through the note. "Who are you thinking?"

"I'll take point. And I was thinking Mingi, Seonghwa, and Jongho."

He watched as Yunho pushed out his lips as he fell deep into thought. Then he nodded slowly. "Yeah. Yeah I think that sounds like a good idea. Are you sure you don't want me to go with you?"

"Yeah. I can handle three of them. Plus I'll have Seonghwa positioned on a roof so really it'll be three of us together on the ground. You can stay here and work with the others. I want you to get a list from Yeosang about the gear he will need. I'm working on building him a safe room that he can set up in so he can start monitoring everything."

Yunho gave him a look of surprise, but nodded. "Ok. Let's do this then."

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Jongho stroked his chin as he listened to Hongjoong explain to the small group what was going on.

A smaller gang in town had let slip that they were planning on robbing a local gun store to stock up on supplies. It made sense that groups would need to get more weapons, but to rob an entire store? It seemed a little fishy to Jongho, and he could tell that Seonghwa felt the same way by the way his eyes narrowed.

Hongjoong seemed confident though. "Seonghwa, I want you positioned on the roof opposite from the store to keep look out for us."

"I can do that." The oldest nodded, straightening up a little.

"Good, at the end here tell me what equipment you need and I'll make sure you have it. And Mingi and Jongho, you will be with me. We will set up an ambush for the group and hopefully take them down. I'd like to take them alive if we can. Any information we can get from them will be useful."

"I have one concern." Seonghwa said.

Hongjoong nodded at him, indicating for him to continue.

"Your uniform is a dead giveaway. And really, all of us are in danger if we are going to be working like this. If we are going to start, then we need some kind of disguise so we won't be recognized."

"I agree." Mingi said, stepping forward.

Jongho watched as Hongjoong shuffled back a little and wouldn't look the taller in the eye. There had been a strange tension between them ever since the day Mingi had been injected after trying to celebrate with the chief.

Granted, Mingi had been a little obvious with this... Crush... Thing... he had for Hongjoong. It made Jongho roll his eyes whenever he thought about it. He was a prisoner. How could he be trying to flirt with the chief of police?

"What did you have in mind?" Hongjoong asked, turning to Seonghwa.

Mingi's shoulders fell a little as he stepped back.

"Something dark so we blend in with the shadows. And a mask for our faces would be good. The less that can be seen, the better. When is this happening?"

"The night after next according to the information we got."

Seonghwa ran a hand through his hair. "I can come up with something if you'd be willing to get it for us. I'm already risking my life, I don't intend on taking any chances."

"And I don't want you to." Hongjoong said quickly. "My number one concern is making sure you are all protected to the best of my ability. I truly meant what I said. I want to give you a second chance."

Jongho couldn't help but smile a little. The small man really had a big heart. There weren't many people out there that would give people like him, or any of the others, a chance like this. And his concern was evident in the way he spoke. Jongho truly believed that Hongjoong wanted to make sure they were safe above all else.

"Thank you." He said, bowing his head a little.

Hongjoong's cheeks turned slightly red and he cleared his throat. "There's nothing to thank me for. This is my job. Now I want all of you to give me a list of your needs and I will make sure they get done. This needs to be a two-way bridge of trust."

The three of them nodded and took the paper and pencil that the chief offered them.

Jongho really didn't need much since his main weapon was his fists and feet, but he did make sure to get bullet proof vest on there and seconding Seonghwa's idea of a disguise.

The other two had lists significantly longer, but they had different needs to fit their talents.

This was it. It was weird, but part of him was excited to see what happened. Jongho truly did want to earn his freedom. He hoped everything went ok.

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Mingi fidgeted with a paperclip as he crouched next to Jongho and Hongjoong. They had found an alleyway to hide in while they waited for the robbery to happen.

Seonghwa had done a good job with their costumes. They were dressed all in black, and they all had black fingerless gloves that had a special attachment on them to cover the tips of their fingers if needed. Seonghwa had also commissioned large black hats to help hid their faces alongside the masks they all wore over the lower half of their face.

Nerves started to set in as Mingi shifted in place. He wasn't used to working with others and he didn't want to let them down.

Especially Hongjoong.

He understood why he had been injected, and he hadn't meant to frighten the older, but the excitement had taken over and Mingi hadn't been thinking.

Jongho met his gaze and nodded in reassurance. He looked nervous too.

This all seemed so fast for them to be working as a team, but they had all witnessed the bracelet's effects, so there was no way they'd try and run.

Hongjoong had done his research well.

"Car approaching from the west." Seonghwa said through their earpiece.

Mingi glanced up to where the older was keeping watch, but he couldn't see him. He found it impressive that Seonghwa was able to hide so easily, but then again, he had come directly from the mafia so it made sense that he would have some sort of stealth training.

"Keep your eyes peeled." Hongjoong whispered.

Mingi hummed in response and pulled out the small handgun he had been given. He didn't really like using guns. They made too much noise. But he did feel better about having the protection.

A van pulled up in front of the store and several men jumped out. One pointed a device at the nearest street camera and pressed a button. A red beam shot out of it.

He had just disabled that, and all the other cameras in the area. These men knew what they were doing.

"Whatever that device was is messing with my electronic scope." Seonghwa warned.

"Fall back if you need to." Hongjoong hissed, crouching low as the men got closer to their position.

"No, I'll be fine. I just won't be as accurate."

As the men started to gather, Mingi counted ten of them. It was twice as many as they had been expecting.

A chill ran down his spine as they walked casually toward the store front.

Something was wrong.

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Seonghwa hissed as he took the scope off his sniper rifle. He knew that device all too well, and it told him that this wasn't some lowly gang like Hongjoong had originally thought. Either that or they had managed to steal it form one of the more popular groups in the area.

He squinted as he watched them gather in front of the store, trying to see if he could make out anyone's face.

But they were prepared too.

All of their faces were covered by a mask or bandana.

They started to slowly walk toward the store. But it was almost too casual.

"Hongjoong. I don't like this. That device shouldn't be in the hands of just a street gang. I think we need to abort the mission."

"No, fire off some rounds and make it look like there is more than one of you up there. We need to capture at least one of them."

Seonghwa chewed on his tongue for a moment, then aimed for the ground at the men's feet.

"Now." Hongjoong ordered.

The older fired off several rounds, making all then men flinch and dive to the side.

The plan had worked well enough. They scattered and tried to find cover while pulling out guns of their own.

Seonghwa watched as his three teammates ran from the shadows and started attacking the nearest men. He tracked several with his gun and fired a few more rounds.

One ran up behind who he thought was Jongho, his arm extended as he pointed the gun at him.

Jongho turned around and froze.

A loud bang echoed through the streets and the body fell to the ground. Seonghwa licked his lips and smirked. "Damn I'm good."

"Thanks Seonghwa." Jongho whispered before he ran forward and tackled another man to the ground.

A few ran from the scene and back to the van.

"They are retreating. Be careful." Seonghwa warned. He watched as the van started to pull away.

Then someone popped through the roof and started firing in his direction.

Seonghwa had to duck behind the wall to avoid being hit as the man continued to fire, covering the van's escape.

The next thing he heard was an explosion.

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Hongjoong yelled as he ran forward and knocked the gun out of one of the men's hands. He was tackled to the ground and struggled to win the wrestling match that was started between the two of them.

He whipped his head to the left right as the man tried to punch him. The other screamed in response as his fist slammed against the hard concrete.

Hongjoong used this distraction to flip them, pulling out a pair of handcuffs as he did.

As he worked on restraining the man, he briefly registered Seonghwa's warning to be safe.

Once he was done, he looked up and saw the van pulling away.

At least they had managed to get one.

But his heart dropped when he saw something get thrown from the van. It rolled along the ground for a moment before Hongjoong noticed the burning fuse.

"Get down!" He shouted as he stood and ran toward the bomb.

Gunfire echoed around him as he picked it up and threw it as hard as he could.

Then he felt an arm wrap around his waist and pull him behind the closest building before pressing him against the wall.

The bomb went off, shaking all the buildings around them.

That was no ordinary bomb.

As the explosion died down, Hongjoong looked up and noticed it was Mingi pressing him to the wall, protecting him with his own body.

He bit his lip, lucky that the younger couldn't see him beneath the hat and mask. This guy really didn't know when to stop, did he?

"Are you guys alright?" Seonghwa called through their connection.

"Yeah, I think we are ok." Mingi answered as he slowly leaned away from the wall. "Jongho?"

"I'm ok. What the hell was that?"

Hongjoong glared down at the one man he had managed to capture. "A trap. We walked right into a trap. Seonghwa, carefully make your way back to the car. There may be more of them around here."

"Will do." The older said. He sounded a little shaken.

"Jongho, can you get him?" He asked, looking at the fighter. He got a nod in response and watched as Jongho lifted him easily from the ground. "Ok, let's get back to back and try to figure out what on earth just happened."

Mingi helped him stand and took up a position right behind him and slightly to the right as they slowly made their way back to the car.

How could he have been so stupid? Now that he looked back on it, the information seemed too easy... His first task as a leader, and he had failed...


	10. Chapter 10

Yeosang looked around the room Yunho had taken him to and studied it with his trained eye. There were cameras in the corner, which didn't surprise him, but the room was empty.

"What's going on?" He asked, turning to the taller.

"This is going to be your room. Hongjoong wanted you to have a look at it so you could get a feel for the kind of set-up you want. If you noticed, we walked for quite a ways. This building isn't attached to the precinct directly so there's no way to tie it with us. But it is connected by that underground tunnel so you can get back and forth without going outside."

"Wow. You guys have put a lot of work into this, haven't you?"

Yunho rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Yeah, we are really hoping this is going to work."

Yeosang glanced at him and saw a lot of unsaid thoughts in his eyes, but he didn't pry. It wasn't his place. "So, I can ask for... Anything?"

"Yes, and we will do our best to get it. I can't promise anything, but we will do our best."

The hacker quickly accepted the pad and paper Yunho offered him before turning back to the room, trying to envision what he wanted in there.

He turned to one side, decided that's where his main desk would go. If he could have anything, he wanted to go all out, especially if it meant protecting his team.

"Ok, I'm thinking at least six monitors to start with. More if you guys can spare them. Also, drones. Lots of them. I can keep lookout from high above and cover areas Seonghwa might not be able to see. I would like a bed so I have a place to rest but I can be close by, if that's ok?" He glanced at Yunho.

The taller pursed his lips and looked around the room. "I don't see that being a problem. It would make it handy for you to be here if we need you to look up some information for us. Now, I want you to know, we are probably trusting you the most out of anyone because Hongjoong is planning on giving you full access to our system." His tone grew harsh as he crossed his arms.

Yeosang felt the heat come to his face as he looked down. He hated that judgmental look. "You don't have to keep reminding me. I know what I did was wrong, but I had my reas-"

"Yunho, get back here now." Hongjoong's voice came from their bracelets.

The pair looked at each other before turning and running down the long hallway they had taken to get here.

Even running it took them over ten minutes to get back to the precinct. They were both out of breath when they got there but kept up the pace of a jog until they saw Hongjoong pacing outside of a room with Jongho, Mingi, and Seonghwa leaning against the wall.

Mingi's eyes watched Hongjoong nervously and Seonghwa looked upset.

"What happened?" Yunho asked, running over to the group and grabbing Hongjoong's shoulders. He scanned his friend quickly and brushed his thumb against some of the scraps on his face.

"It was a trap. It was a fucking trap!" Hongjoong growled, shoving Yunho's hands away.

The taller stepped back as hurt flashed across his face. "What..."

"They had everything planned out." Seonghwa answered as Hongjoong started his pacing again. "I think this was a trap to try and draw the police out. I... I don't think they expected a team like us, because I was able to rattle them a little with my shots. But they had an advance device that disabled all the cameras in the area and even messed with my scopes. I don't think the guns were the actual target."

Yunho paled as he looked back at Hongjoong.

"We did manage to capture one of them." Jongho said softly, cracking his knuckles. "He's in there." He jerked his head at the door across from them. "Hongjoong already tried talking to him, but he isn't giving us any information. He even tried to kill himself before we could get him properly restrained."

Yeosang turned to Seonghwa, hoping he'd have some insight on what was going on. "Do you know him?"

The older shot him a quick glare but shook his head. "No. I don't. But it all puts a bad taste in my mouth." He turned to Hongjoong. "I really think we need to prepare a little more. If the gangs are all working together then we are in way over our heads."

Hongjoong's shoulder's sagged as he leaned against the wall. "I know. That's what scares me the most. And you still won't give me any information?" He glanced at Seonghwa, a hopeful look in his eyes.

"No." Seonghwa snapped before walking away.

Yeosang watched him go, slightly worried about him.

Hongjoong sighed and ran a hand through his blue-black hair. "I messed up..."

"None of us could have predicted this would have happened." Mingi said, taking a step forward. "You showed us the information from your contact. Everything seemed legitimate."

The older looked up at him and his shoulders seemed to relax for a second before he shook his head and started pacing again.

Mingi looked at the ground and returned to his place next to Jongho, who said, "Mingi's right. I think we need to be prepared for one hell of a fight. And we are all still learning. You can't take it out on yourself too much Hongjoong."

"The prisoner isn't going to give us anything?" Yunho asked softly, still keeping his distance from his friend.

"No. He refuses to talk, which is his right of course and we can't force him." Hongjoong glared at the room and sighed again before turning back to Mingi and Jongho. "You guys did really well tonight. Get some rest and we will try to figure out a game plan tomorrow." He turned to walk away and Yunho took up position behind him as he always did.

Yeosang glanced at Jongho and Mingi. Both had defeated looks on their faces. "Was it really that bad?"

"It's hard to say. I think his pride is wounded more than anything. He was expecting things to go smoothly and it didn't." Mingi said, staring at where they cops had vanished around the corner.

"He's right though." Jongho said, clapping Mingi's shoulder. "Let's try to get some sleep and clear our minds."

The three of them slowly made their way to their wing of cells they had been given. Since they had their bracelets, they were kept in an area where their doors could be unlocked and they could come and go freely.

Yeosang stopped outside of Seonghwa's room and knocked gently. The older answered after a few seconds and his hard face seemed to soften a little. "Are you ok?"

"I don't like being surprised." The gunman grumbled before stepping back into his room. "And the thing that gets me is that I could have taken them all down easily." He let out a cold chuckle. "And normally I would have."

Yeosang hummed and moved to sit next to him on his bed. "So why didn't you?"

Seonghwa was quiet for a long moment. "I've done a lot of killing in my life. I'm tired of it. I want to try and change." He rubbed the back of his head. "As crazy as that sounds coming from someone like me. This whole second chance mumbo jumbo must be getting to me."

"I don't think its mumbo jumbo." Yeosang whispered. "There's nothing wrong with wanting to be a better person or try to do something to help others."

The older cocked an eyebrow and looked at him, but then he turned away and sighed. "You don't know what I've done."

Silence fell over them again. Yeosang wanted to know what he was talking about, but he knew it wasn't his place. He had his own secrets he wanted to keep.

So instead, he just reached over and took Seonghwa's hand and let the comfortable silence continue.

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Mingi paced in his room for a few minutes before growling and storming out and in the direction of Hongjoong's office.

He didn't like seeing the older so distressed. It did things to him that he didn't fully understand himself.

Was he crazy? He had to be if he was marching to see the chief that had knocked him out for hugging him.

But Mingi couldn't help it.

"Dammit." He grumbled to himself as he made his way through the winding halls. "You're such a fool."

And yet he soon found himself in front of Hongjoong's office. He knocked gently and opened the door.

A small smile crossed his face when he saw Hongjoong sitting at his desk with his face buried in his hands. And Yunho wasn't there anymore.

"Hongjoong?"

The older just groaned into his hands. "I thought I told you to go rest Mingi."

"I wanted to make sure that you were ok."

Hongjoong parted some of his fingers and peeked at Mingi through them. "I'm fine."

"That's a blatant lie." Mingi said with a chuckle. "I know... I know you may not necessarily trust me, but I want you to know you can talk to me. I-If you want to."

"Mingi." Hongjoong said with a warning tone as he covered is face again. Then he sighed and dropped them. "I do trust you. I trust until you give me a reason not to. And I'm ok. Just frustrated."

"You can't dwell on it. We are all going to make mistakes. I've obviously made many, my worst moment getting slammed in the face with a shovel."

The corner of Hongjoong's mouth curled into a smile that he tried to fight. "Yeah I heard about that."

"What can I say? I panicked. I wasn't expecting for the cops to find me."

"Can I ask you something?" Hongjoong stood from his desk and came to stand on the other side of it. He leaned into it and crossed his arms as Mingi sat down in the chair while nodding. "Your jobs. I've always tried to figure out your motives. You've never worked like a regular thief. There were always so many objects that were left behind, and most of the time they were worth more than what you actually stole."

Mingi sighed and ran his hand through his faded red hair. "I'm what I like to call a contract thief. I didn't steal for myself. I stole for others."

Hongjoong's eyebrows rose in surprise and his arms fell to his side.

"And the items I stole were ones that had been stolen from the person who contacted me. I discovered at a young age that I was good at sneaking around and picking locks. My house was robbed when I was a kid. My dad had some gambling debt and a few thugs trashed the place. My mother hid me in the storage closest and I sat there and listened as the men..." Mingi swallowed and looked at the floor. "They raped my mother and forced my dad to watch before killing them both."

"I'm so sorry..." Hongjoong whispered.

"I ended up tracking down some of the possessions they took. Mainly my dad's ring." He held up his hand to show the gold ring he wore on his right ring finger. It was a simple gold band that had 'Song' engraved into it. "It was that day that I wanted to help others work through the same pain I had been through. I know it still wasn't the 'legally right' thing to do. But I believed it was because I was helping others get things back that they had lost."

Mingi glanced up and saw Hongjoong's face soften a little. "And the people you killed?"

"Thugs who tried to harm me when I tried to steal possessions back. I only did it if they attacked me first. You can chose to believe me, or not. But that's the truth."

"I believe you." Hongjoong whispered. "Like I said, I trust until you give me a reason not to." He paused for a moment and bit his lip. "Why did you protect me?"

Mingi's heart started to pound. "I think you know why."

Even though Hongjoong's face turned a little red, he shook his head quickly. "No. Mingi, you need to stop. It can't work." His tone turned harsh as he moved to walk away.

Mingi stood and grabbed his wrist, making sure to grab his right one so he could cover the bracelet. "Why? Why couldn't it work?"

Hongjoong spun around in surprise. "Let go of me, Mingi."

"Why couldn't it work?" He asked again. If Hongjoong gave him a good enough reason then he would stop.

Then his head snapped to the side and his cheek stung. Mingi used his free hand to rub where Hongjoong had slapped him.

The older looked shocked that he had even done that and he opened his mouth. "Mingi, I-"

Mingi yanked him closer and connected their lips in a heated kiss. He placed his hand on the back of Hongjoong's head to keep him in place.

Hongjoong tried to push him away and pull his wrist free, but his attempt was feeble.

Mingi didn't push it too far, just wanting to kiss him. Their lips moved in sync for a moment before be pulled back and smirked at Hongjoong's flushed face. "You didn't give me a reason... So let me give you one. I'm not a bad person, Hongjoong. I've done bad things, but I'm not a bad person. You're already giving me a second chance at freedom, so if you'll give me a full chance, I promise I won't let you down. You're going to need someone watching your back, and I can do that."

Hongjoong blinked several times and opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

"Just think about it. And don't dwell on tonight. We will figure things out." Mingi whispered, pulling Hongjoong's hand to his mouth and kissing it twice before turning to leave.

As he walked back to his room, he couldn't help but smile. He had no idea where this sudden infatuation had come from, but Mingi felt like he might actually stand a chance with Hongjoong now. Maybe, just maybe. 


	11. Chapter 11

Hongjoong came into the precinct the next day knowing he looked like shit. His hair was a mess and he had large bags under his eyes.

He stumbled his way into the building and quickly went to the coffee pot and pouring what was left of the previous batch. He added what was probably way too much cream and sugar, but he needed it to drown out the bitter taste from the coffee itself.

All he desired right now was the caffeine.

As he stood there sipping the lukewarm drink, Yunho entered the room and hesitated. It looked like he wanted to turn tail and run.

Hongjoong knew he probably deserved it after pushing him away yesterday. He hadn't meant to, but he wasn't at a place where he wanted comfort.

But the taller didn't. He never would, no matter how bad things got between them. He had always been at Hongjoong's side.

Yunho prepared a new pot of coffee and stood there quietly, fidgeting with his hands.

"I'm sorry."

"You look like shit."

Both boys turned to each other and let out a breathy laugh as the tension broke when they spoke at the same time.

"I'm sorry, about yesterday." Hongjoong said quickly, feeling the need to get that out.

Yunho held a hand up and shook his head. "No it's ok. I know yesterday was rough. Is that why you look like..." He motioned to Hongjoong's face, "This?"

The older chewed on the inside of his cheek and looked away.

Truth be told... That wasn't the only reason he couldn't sleep last night. While he had been going over game plans for the team and trying to figure out what he had missed for the ambush, his thoughts kept drifting back to that damn kiss.

Who the hell did Mingi think he was, kissing him like that? And after he had slapped him? Was he crazy?

Hongjoong sighed. He hadn't meant to slap the thief. It was just a reflex, and it had probably hurt him more than it had hurt Mingi.

And then for Mingi to kiss him...

Hongjoong brought his fingers up to his lips and felt his cheeks heat up a little. He didn't... hate it. But he didn't know if he liked it either. He was more confused than anything.

No one had ever show interest in him. Not that he was aware of at least. But he also hadn't taken the time to try and date. He had always been so focused on becoming a police officer.

And for Mingi to come on to him after only knowing for a few weeks. What the hell was he thinking? He had practically forced the kiss yesterday!

That was wrong... Right?

Practically...

Hongjoong ran his fingers over his lips as he remembered that he had kissed back. His face got a little hotter.

He had kissed back.

Was he crazy?

"Hongjoong?" Yunho said.

The chief's head flew up and he stared at his friend with wide eyes. "Huh?"

"You've been staring off into space for almost ten minutes now. And there were a lot of different emotions crossing your face. Are you ok?" Yunho sounded genuinely concerned as he leaned forward a little. "Why are you rubbing your lips like that?"

Hongjoong immediately dropped his hand to his side and cleared his throat. Part of him wanted to tell Yunho what happened. But part of him also wanted to wait and see where this went.

Where this went? Hongjoong groaned inwardly. There was no way this could go anywhere. The man was a criminal. He was sentenced to death for murder.

No... he had been given a chance to clear his name. So as long as he did well on the team then he was a free man with a clear record.

Then they could be together.

Is that what he wanted? Hongjoong didn't even really know. He was so confused... Sure he found Mingi attractive. Very attractive... But he didn't know anything about him other than he was a criminal.

No, that wasn't true. Mingi had shared a very intimate part of himself last night. It was something he hadn't needed to share, but he did. And it made Hongjoong's heart break for him when he thought about how awful that must have been to witness.

"Hongjoong!"

"What?" He said quickly, snapping his head back up.

"Ok, I think you need to get home and get some sleep." Yunho said, setting his coffee cup down. "Either that or you need to tell me why you're spacing out so much. What is going on in that brain of yours?"

"N-Nothing important. What's on the agenda for the day?" Hongjoong said as he turned away from his friend.

"We don't have anything."

"Good. Good. Good." Hongjoong mumbled as he rubbed his cheek. "Work on getting supplies for the members. Anything they need. Let's get Yeosang set up. I have a few things I need to do." He said before walking away slowly.

.

.

.

.

Yunho watched Hongjoong walk away and could feel the shock written on his face.

What had gotten into him? It was obviously something serious. He had never seen Hongjoong act like that before.

It was obvious that he didn't want to talk about it though, so Yunho topped off his coffee before heading to his desk to put in an order for the equipment Yeosang had asked for.

Then he pulled up the maps of the area and route to Yeosang's space. It was so far away. He knew that's why they did it, but it almost seemed inconvenient for him to be out there all by himself.

Maybe they could do something about it.

But for now, Yunho wanted to go check in on San.

It had been a couple of days since he was brought into the interrogation room and put on meds. An officer had been assigned to make sure he took them, which he did but it was a bit of a struggle.

This wasn't going to be an easy task.

As he made his way to the wing they had set aside for the members, he thought he saw Hongjoong walk down a different hallway. He almost went to see if it was really him but thought better of it.

Hongjoong needed some space.

So he kept going to San's room. The door was closed, like always, so he knocked gently.

"Come in." The soft voice called from the other side.

Yunho eased the door open and was greeted with a wide smile. "Hey." He said shyly as he shut the door behind him.

"This is a nice surprise. What's going on?" San tilted his head to the side.

"I wanted to check in and see how you were doing. I... I know we started you on some medication, and I wanted to... To see how, you know." Yunho didn't quite know how to word that he wanted to check on San's mental stability. They had never even talked about it in length with him.

San pursed his lips and looked down. "I'm doing... Ok. Can I ask what they are for? Are the others taking them too?"

Yunho sighed and sat down in front of him. "I need to apologize to you. We... That last interview. We had a doctor listening in to the conversation. He's the one who prescribed the medication. It's to try and help you. San, do you hear voices in your head?"

The younger's eyes widened as he looked up at Yunho. "V-V-Voices?"

"It's like you have two separate conversations sometimes. One with whoever is in the room, and one with yourself on the side. You can be honest with me."

"You... You had someone... Watching me?" His head twitched a little as he closed his eyes.

"Yes. I wanted a professional's opinion on what I was seeing. I've... I've seen this before, San. You don't remember parts of your life and that's not normal."

San opened his eyes and glanced at him. He looked scared. "Y-Yes... I do." He whispered. Then his head twitched again before he turned it to the side. "N-No... Please..." He whimpered.

Yunho tensed as he leaned forward. "San. San I want you to focus on my voice. Listen to me San."

The younger clutched the side of his head and groaned. Yunho could tell he was trying to fight it. He thought that might be what the head twitch was. He was trying to shake the voice away.

"Leave us alone." San said, his voice getting a little darker. "We didn't ask for your help."

There it was. Now Yunho knew the voices had taken over. He leaned forward and took San's hands in his. "San, listen to my voice. You can do this. Fight through it San."

"You're such a fool to think you can take on us." The boy looked up at him, his eyes black again. "We don't need you. Leave us alone before we decide to hurt you. It would be so easy."

So this change was violent too, but it was tactical about it unlike Yuri's. It was smart, which was going to pose a problem.

"Why are you doing this to San?"

"We aren't doing anything to him. We do this for him. To protect him from fools like you who want to imprison and kill him."

Yunho shook his head. "That's not what I want. I want to help him."

Suddenly, San pushed himself out of his chair and locked his hands around Yunho's neck. The force knocked him over backward and the air was forced out of his lungs as he and his chair were slammed into the floor.

He tried reaching for his bracelet, but San grabbed that arm and pinned it to the ground. "Leave. Us. Alone." He hissed, squeezing harder on Yunho's throat.

"S-San. Please." He forced out, bringing a hand up to try and pull San's away from his throat. "San, I know you're in there."

Yunho started to choke and the borders of his vision turned black.

"San..." He moved his hand to cup the side of San's face.

Then he inhaled sharply as San released him and slid to the side. "Y-Yunho?"

The taller brought his hand to his throat as he coughed several times. His throat and chest hurt as he tried to get oxygen flowing through him again.

A shaky hand started to rub his back and he turned to see San looking at him with tears running down his cheeks. "I'm s-sorry." He whimpered. "I-I... I didn't..."

"It's ok, San." Yunho said, wincing at how raw his voice sounded. "I know it wasn't you."

He rotated so he could sit against the door and lean against it, focusing on taking deep breaths.

Then his eyes flew open and he felt a weight on his lap and he looked to see San crawling onto it and burying his face in Yunho's neck. "H-Help me..."

Yunho closed his arms around San immediately and started to rock him. "That's what I want to do. That's what the medication is for. You're strong San. I can see you trying to fight them. We just need to find out what will get them to go away."

The younger whimpered again as he nodded and tried to press his body further into Yunho. "I don't want to hurt anyone anymore. Why do they make me hurt people?" He brought a hand up and ran his fingers along Yunho's throat. Then he sobbed. "I'm so sorry..."

"Sshh, it's ok. We are going to get through this together."

"How did you know?"

Yunho swallowed as he rested his cheek against the top of San's head. "Because my sister had it."

San sniffed as he continued to run his fingers along Yunho's throat as if he could erase what just happened. "H-Had?" He asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Yeah. Had. She..." Yunho took a deep breath. "She was murdered. Three years ago."

He felt the younger tense a little and held him tighter. "I'm sorry."

"Thank you. We were able to help her. And I want to help you too. You just need to work with me, and you need to want it. Ok?"

San nodded. "They would be mad at me for saying this, but they scare me. I hate that I can't remember what I've done... But whenever I... I gain control again, it takes them some time to come back, so they won't know."

"Good. We can work with that. The medication you are supposed to take needs to be taken at the same time every day San. There's about an hour window, but it needs to be taken every day. Once it gets into your system it's supposed to try and balance you out a little."

"Ok. What if they figure it out?" He sat up and looked at Yunho, his eyes full of worry.

"We..." Yunho cringed at the thought that popped into his head. "We can force you to take it if need be. There's a few ways we can do that. But we can cross that bridge when we get there. Can you tell me when they started?"

The younger shook his head. "They've been there for as long as I can remember. They got worse as I got older..."

"The doctor I told you about is going to want to see you. Are you ok with that?"

San made a small sound of approval as he leaned into Yunho's shoulder again.

"We are going to figure this out. I just need you to trust me." Yunho whispered. And in his heart he knew it was true.

San, the real San, wasn't a bad person. He had just done bad things, but it could be argued it wasn't entirely his fault. There had been cases when the case was dismissed due to mental health issues. And Yunho knew they already had enough footage with proof if things ever came to that.

They sat there for a long time not saying anything.

Then San broke the silence. "If I get better, will I get to be a part of the team?"

"You already are, but yes."

"I'd like that." The younger paused. "I'd really like to belong somewhere."

Yunho tilted his head to look down at San. His eyes were closed and there was a slight pout on his lips. "You will, San. I'll help you."


	12. Chapter 12

Mingi rolled over onto his side as flipped open his book. He had asked for something to read to pass the time while waiting for training or an assignment, so Yunho had brought him a selection of books from his own library.

This one was a fantasy adventure that actually followed a thief so he was getting into it. He had always loved reading and had nicked a books from some houses that he found interesting, but reading them way another story. He had always been so busy that he had yet to finish one.

He probably should be training right now, but he needed something to distract himself from thinking about Hongjoong.

God he was like a lovesick school girl... Could he be more pathetic?

Probably. But he would cross that bridge when he got there because that would depend on Hongjoong.

And really it would depend on what happened with the team too. Mingi liked the idea of what they were doing since his targets had always been gang and mafia members too. That and after what happened to his parents, the idea of taking them down once and for all was appealing.

But they needed to work on being a team. He had hardly interacted with anyone outside of Jongho and their sparring matches.

Mingi sighed when he realized he read the same paragraph three times and closed his book after slipping in the bookmark Yunho had given him.

Right as he did, there was a gentle knock on the door. "Come in." Mingi called, grunting as he sat up.

He froze when he saw Hongjoong slip into his room and quickly close the door. The older looked flushed and out of breath, like he had run there.

They locked eyes and just stared at each other for a long moment.

Hongjoong was the first one to break contact. He looked down and ran his hand through his hair before bringing it down to rub his eyebrow. "Hey."

"Hi?" Mingi tilted his head a little. What was he doing here? Could it be...?

"What was that yesterday?" Hongjoong asked suddenly, his face hardening as he glanced back at Mingi.

The taller gulped and clenched his hand. What he angry?

"Well?"

"I don't know what you want me to say." Mingi said quietly, not taking his eyes off the older. "I thought I made it pretty clear."

"Do you normally hit on people you just met?" Hongjoong crossed his arms, trying to look intimidating, but the look on his face had Mingi's heart doing flips with how cute he looked.

"No. Just you."

Hongjoong's hard face faltered and a soft look crept onto his face. "Why me? Why now?"

"Well that's kind of a silly question, isn't it? It's only happening now because I just met you. There's nothing special about right now. I see it as I'm a man with a second chance, so why not treat it like we are two people who met in a coffee shop on a random Sunday? We don't have to be a thief or the chief of police if we don't want to be. And why you? Why is anyone attracted to anyone else? It just... Happened. I can't really explain it. Probably not the way you are looking for at least. But... I found you attractive from the moment I saw you, and..." Mingi looked at the ground and felt his face getting hot as he mumbled, "I think the energy you give off as a leader sexy."

He peeked up to see Hongjoong's mouth open a little. His adams apple even bobbed a little, as if he wanted to say something but the words died in his throat.

Then the older surprised him by walking forward, grabbing the sides of his face, and connecting their lips in a heated kiss.

Mingi hesitated for a second before he pulled Hongjoong closer to him. He wrapped his arms around Hongjoong's waist to hold him in place while he tilted his head back a little to make the kiss easier for the older.

The tiniest of moans escaped Hongjoong's lips before he stepped back.

Mingi didn't fight it and let him go, even though he felt so empty at the loss of contact.

Hongjoong was bright red as he spun in a circle. He fluffed out his hair repeatedly and made a few grunting sounds that only succeeded in turning Mingi on a little.

"I must be crazy." Hongjoong muttered. "Like we could actually get away with dating. We have a job to do."

"Yes, we do." Mingi said, causing the other to pause and look at him. "And I won't deny that one bit. But we are allowed days off... Right? Even you can't work seven days a week. And I do have this." Mingi held up his wrist to show off the bracelet. "So really, you have control over the entire situation."

Hongjoong pursed his lips and nodded.

Mingi's heart started to pound a little faster. Was he actually considering this?

"I... I don't know how to date." Hongjoong confessed, looking off to the side.

"Neither do I." Mingi reached out slowly to grab his hand. "So we can figure it out together, if you'll give me a chance."

Hongjoong was quiet for several minutes. "I don't want anyone else to know for right now." He whispered.

"That's fine. I can make that compromise."

The older sighed and nodded again. "Ok then... I'll... I'll check my schedule and we can figure something out." He said in a cute, quiet voice.

"I'd like that." Mingi gave him a crooked smile that made Hongjoong blush again before he left the room.

Then the taller fell back onto his bed and beamed.

What he thought had been his worst mistake on the job had actually turned into something that could be amazing.

.

.

.

.

Wooyoung was feeling restless just staying in his room all the time, so he decided to try and find something to do.

If he was being honest, he was a little hurt that he hadn't been asked to go on the mission too. He was dying to get out of the prison and just try to be a normal person again.

But he supposed that would come with time. Once he earned his freedom again.

He missed going to the movies, or even just going for a walk around the park.

But that was probably something that required a little more trust, and he knew he was on thin ice after attacking San the other day.

Although, it sounded like Hongjoong and Yunho didn't entirely blame him. Which was good because he really didn't mean to snap like that.

It's just that word...

Wooyoung sighed as he walked down the hall.

Then he heard a dull thud and he turned his head to the door next to him. He knew exactly what that sound was, but who was practicing with knives right now?

He opened the door and poked his head into the practice room.

Seonghwa was standing next to a table he had lined with several knives. He picked a few up, tossing one in the air to flip it around and catch it again, before he threw it at the target positioned on the other side of the room.

His aim was good. It was definitely going to wound someone. But it could be better.

Wooyoung stepped inside and cleared his throat.

Seonghwa turned and stared him down. The younger shivered as the dark grey eyes held him in place before Seonghwa turned back to the table. "Can I help you?"

"I was actually going to ask you that question." Wooyoung stepped forward slowly and picked up one of the knives.

He shivered as the cold metal kissed his skin. It was almost like the knives could speak to him. He knew exactly how heavy this one was, where the center of balance had been placed, and the best way to throw it so it was deadly.

"I'm fine." Seonghwa said harshly before picking up a couple more to throw across the room.

"Mind if I practice too then?" When Wooyoung didn't get an answer, he picked up five more knives and went to stand in front of the other target.

His ego was still a little bruised after the impromptu competition with San, so he was determined to do well today.

He twirled one knife nimbly between his fingers. Then he flicked his wrist in one quick, snappy motion that wouldn't have been detected by anyone who was looking at him from behind. The knife landed right where the heart would be on the target.

Then he watched as Seonghwa threw his knife. He still had to use his entire arm.

Deciding he wanted to show off a little, Wooyoung repeated his wrist flick technique, changing his stance only slightly to try different angles.

"How do you do that?" Seonghwa asked.

Wooyoung turned to see he had a curious look on his face. It was much more pleasant to look at than his stone-cold look he normally had on.

"A lot of it is dictated by the knife itself. You need to know the best place to hold it so it does most of the work. Watch."

He turned back to the target after getting three identical knives. Then he turned to the side and tried flicking his wrist while holding the knives in three different placed.

While he still had fairly accurate aim, and all the knives would have done damage, there was still a large space between them because of the balance and way he had been holding them.

"You have to let the knife be an extension of yourself. Plus then you'll exert less energy and be able to do a little more if needed. And it can be a good sneak attack." Wooyoung turned to the older and paused.

Seonghwa's eyebrows were furrowed as he focused on the knife in his hand and Wooyoung found his eyes drawn there too. His long slender fingers looked amazing as they twisted the knife between them. So much so that Wooyoung wanted to reach out and see if they were as soft as they looked.

He stepped a little closer, part of him wanting some kind of contact. He had felt that way earlier with Yunho too. Part of him just wanted to be touched... To be...

"So find the center of balance and go from there?" Seonghwa's deep voice cut through Wooyoung's thoughts.

"Yeah. Here, watch one more time." He turned to face Seonghwa's target and went through each step slowly. Seonghwa copied him, his gaze focused intently on Wooyoung's hands.

It took the older a couple of tries, but he managed to get a successful flick to at least hit the target.

Wooyoung watched as his eyes lit up in excitement and he even bounced in place a little.

So he wasn't as stone cold as he liked to let others believe he was. Wooyoung smiled and took a step closer. "Now try again with a different one."

"Ok." Seonghwa said, quickly turning to grab another one.

They practiced for a few hours, never talking about anything other than finding the balance of a knife or a certain way to throw it.

Wooyoung shared a couple of his other tricks with the older, knowing that his skills were good enough to handle them.

"Thank you." Seonghwa said as they finished up and were returning the knives to their place on the table. "I've always been better with guns, so I had focused on that for my training."

The younger paused, surprised that Seonghwa was talking about himself. "What was your training like?" He asked, feeling himself drifting closer to the older again.

"Intense. It was almost pass or fail."

"Almost?" Wooyoung went to return a knife next to where Seonghwa was and their fingers brushed together.

Seonghwa withdrew his immediately and Wooyoung bit his lip to hide his disappointment. "I had some special circumstances. But things were still intense. I had to do so well in order to pass the training."

"And once you did... That's when they started giving you assignments?"

"Yes."

"Did you like it?" Wooyoung looked up at him, his heart pounding on his chest. Out of all the others, he related to Seonghwa the most and was dying to know what it felt like for him too. "The killing?" He whispered.

"I don't think it was ever a matter of like or dislike for me. It was just getting the job done. I never took enough time to think about who it was I was killing. I just did what I was told to do. It was all I knew..."

"What made you turn yourself in?"

Seonghwa's breath hitched in his throat and he looked down. "That doesn't matter."

Wooyoung bit his lip again and just nodded before running his fingers along one of the knives on the table.

"Did you like it?" Seonghwa asked, not looking at him.

This was it. This is where the older would hate him.

"Yes. I enjoyed every second of it. The feeling of my knife running across their throat, knowing that I was the last thing they'd see." A chill went down Wooyoung's spine as he remembered some of the looks he got.

Each one of those bastards deserved it after what they had done.

Especially a couple of them... They deserved it after what they had done to him.

"Wooyoung?" Seonghwa's voice cut through his thoughts as he placed a hand on his shoulder.

The younger leaned into the touch and closed his eyes.

"Are you ok?" The older whispered.

"No. But I don't know that I'll ever be ok again." Wooyoung kept his eyes closed. "Do you hate me for enjoying it?"

There was a long pause. "It sounds like you probably had your reasons, if you wanted your face to be the last thing they saw... No I don't hate you, because I understand, to an extent, where you're coming from."

Wooyoung felt his shoulders sag in relief, then he did something that surprised both of them.

He turned and pressed his forehead into Seonghwa's chest. "I wish that I didn't... But every one of them deserved it." He whispered.

His entire body started to shake as he tried to hold back his tears.

_Whore._

_Filth._

_Slut._

Two arms wrapped around him in comfort as the tears started to fall. He lifted his hands up to fist Seonghwa's shirt. "I'm sorry..." He whimpered. "I'm sorry..."

_Trash._

_Dirty._

_Whore._

"I'm sorry..."

Seonghwa tightened his grip to try and pull him in closer.

That's when Wooyoung froze. All crying and shaking halted as he felt the grip on him tightened.

Then his breathing quickened and he started to hyperventilate. "No..." He pushed against Seonghwa's chest.

"Woo?" The older leaned back a little to look down at him.

"Please..." Wooyoung pushed against the older again as it felt like walls were closing in on him.

Seonghwa reached up to cup his chin to make Wooyoung look at him, but Wooyoung was able to shove him away.

The older stumbled back, a look of shock on his face as Wooyoung covered his mouth.

Then he fled from the room, tears flooding down his cheek again.

_Pathetic._

_Trash._

_Whore._


	13. Chapter 13

Seonghwa watched as the younger ran from the room covering his face with his hands. His mind was trying to process what had just happened.

One minute, Wooyoung was leaning into him like he needed someone to comfort him. And Seonghwa could see it all over his face that he did. Something had happened to the boy that had traumatized him. And whatever that was, was bad enough that once Seonghwa had tried to show him comfort, Wooyoung had changed.

Seonghwa ran through it over and over in his mind. He kept noticing Wooyoung shifting closer to him, so it was like he craved some kind of contact. He must not have been shown much affection.

He wanted the attention, so what was it that set him off?

The hug... When Seonghwa had squeezed him, that's when he had changed.

So Wooyoung didn't like hugs?

No, he had been ok with the first contact. It was the tightness that got him.

There was so many things that could mean though, but Seonghwa had a feeling that Wooyoung didn't like being confined or held.

Now that he thought about it, Wooyoung had seemed really fidgety when they had been chained and he had looked very uncomfortable.

Wanting to attempt to put this theory to the test, Seonghwa made his way to Wooyoung's room. He could hear the younger still sobbing behind the door and lifted his hand to knock.

But before he could, Yeosang came walking up. "Is everything ok?" He asked as his eyes darted to Wooyoung's door.

"I'm not sure. But I'm going to try and find out." Seonghwa shot him a small smile and Yeosang nodded in understanding before walking away.

Seonghwa lifted his hand up again and knocked gently. It sounded like something hit the floor on the other side and he flinched.

He gave Wooyoung a moment to answer, while he also pondered why he was even bothering. It's not like he knew anything about the boy. All they were doing was working together.

But he knew that's exactly why he cared. Back home, the members were his family. Or as close as to family as he could get with his father hovering over him all the time. In all reality, he never really had any friends.

Maybe he could here? They had all been given a second chance, even if they didn't deserve it. He didn't...

He knew he liked Yeosang a lot. And Yunho seemed kind and genuine. Really everyone seemed nice. The only ones that had him questioning things was San and Wooyoung.

It sounded like Yunho and Hongjoong were trying to find a way to help San.

Wooyoung on the other hand... Seonghwa thought that maybe he could help him out.

He tried knocking again and when he didn't get an answer after a few minutes, he slowly turned the handle and pushed the door open.

Wooyoung was lying on his bed with his back to the door. He was attempting to pretend to be asleep, but the shaking shoulders and soft sniffles coming from him gave him away.

Seonghwa stepped inside and closed the door. "Wooyoung? Are you ok?" He asked gently.

The younger responded by sniffing again as he tried to pull a blanket over his head.

"Don't hide. Talk to me." Seonghwa said softly but with a slight commanding tone to his voice. He knew that sometimes that slight dominance was needed to show the other person that he was in charge but that he was also there to help.

And it worked.

Wooyoung poked his head out from under the blanket, his lower lip trembling a little, as he stared at the wall. But he still didn't say anything.

"What happened back there?" Seonghwa asked as he sat on the side of the bed and placed a hand on the younger's shoulder.

The same thing as before happened. Wooyoung seemed to relax at his touch, and Seonghwa had a feeling that if he was sitting up he would be leaning into his hand.

"I'm sorry..." Wooyoung whispered, closing his eyes. "Please don't hurt me..." He started to shake again.

Seonghwa flinched back. "Why would I hurt you?"

"Because I was bad..."

This was worse than he thought. Was the boy punished in the past for doing something wrong? Is this what pushed him to become a murderer? It would have had to have been something terrible too for it to have traumatized him this much.

"Wooyoung, you didn't do anything wrong. What makes you think you did?" Seonghwa kept his voice low as he leaned over to try and catch Wooyoung's eyes. "You were teaching me how to throw knives properly. I thought we were having a good time. I know I was."

When they flashed to his, the older could see the tears forming. "Because I ran away."

"Wooyoung, what happened to you?"

The boy flinched and closed his eyes, a small whimper escaping him as he tried to curl up into a tighter ball.

"I promise I'm not going to hurt you." Seonghwa tilted his head, hoping he sounded genuine. The fear that stayed on the younger's face made his heart break a little. He was so frightened of whatever happened to him in the past. It must have something to do with the people he had killed, if he said that they deserved it. "But who did?"

As the boy opened his eyes, there was a knock on the door.

They both turned and saw Hongjoong step in, a serious look on his face. "I need you both, now." His eyes fell on Wooyoung and his mouth opened a little. "What happened?"

Wooyoung wiped his eyes and sat up. "Nothing. What's going on?"

Seonghwa glanced at him, surprised that his voice was stronger now. His face had hardened as well. So Wooyoung had perfected shoving his emotions aside when need be... That was good when it came to what they needed to do, but very bad for Wooyoung himself.

This conversation wasn't over.

Hongjoong seemed to hesitate for a second, then looked at Seonghwa. "I need you two to go downtown. It sounds like there is a possible hostage situation and I want you to back-up the police that are already there. But don't get involved if you don't need to."

Seonghwa arched an eyebrow. "You want us to help with a hostage situation?"

"Yes. We need to start keeping watch over everything that happens. Yunho and I are getting Yeosang set up now so he can send out some drones and start observing as well. Besides Mingi, you two are the stealthiest we have, but he doesn't have the experience with fighting. I don't want any harm to come to the hostages, do you think you two can handle this if things take a turn for the worse?"

"I know I can. Will you be able to?" The older asked turning to Wooyoung.

"Yes. You can count on me." His eyes seemed to glow with excitement as a small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

Hongjoong glanced at him carefully. "I'm counting on you two. Now go get changed and hurry. We are running out of time. You'll be provided with a one way radio so you can hear what's being said. There's a car waiting out front." He turned and sped from the room, running to the place where they were setting up Yeosang's room.

Seonghwa and Wooyoung hurried to where they kept the uniforms and quickly changed into the all black getup. Their pants were skin tight, but flexible enough to help with mobility. Their shirts were loose button-ups, again to help with their movements. It was topped off with a black hat with a large rim and masks to cover the lower half of their faces.

Wooyoung also pulled on some fingerless leather gloves and a knife belt was strapped around his waist, the right side hanging lower than the left. He also pulled on leather boots that came up to his calves, then slipped a few knives into them.

"Aren't you afraid of getting cut?" Seonghwa asked as he fastened a holster for two pistols around his waist.

The younger just smirked at him and chuckled darkly. "My knives would never hurt me. I thought I made that clear to you before?" He winked before striding out of the room, his footsteps silent.

Seonghwa couldn't help but smile after him before following just as quietly.

The car was waiting just as Hongjoong told them, and it drove them to the back side of a building across the street from where the hostages were being held.

They quickly made their way to the roof and ran at a crouch to the edge before peering over slowly.

"There they are." Seonghwa hissed, pulling out a pair of binoculars. He peered through them and scanned the scene.

Several cop cars were parked in front of the small convenience store and all officers had their guns pointed at the building.

Wooyoung turned on the radio and set it down before looking back at the street.

The hostages were bound and being held in the back corner of the store. Two gunmen were watching over them, but they were near the freezers, so it was obvious that they were all cold.

Three more were hiding at the back of the isles and keeping an eye on the front door.

"Chief they are demanding one million, and are giving us two hours to deliver or they will start killing hostages." A police officer said in the radio.

Seonghwa dropped his binoculars and glanced at it as Hongjoong spoke. "Do we know who is being held? That is a ridiculous amount of money for commoners."

"They seem to believe that one is the son of a politician."

There was silence for a moment before Wooyoung and Seonghwa's bracelets beeped and Hongjoong's voice could be heard in the earpiece they were wearing. "Can you confirm this?"

Wooyoung held out his hand for the binoculars, so the older handed them over and pulled a scope off one of his guns.

He heard the younger swear and glanced at him. "Yeah, that's the senator's son." Wooyoung muttered. His voice was trembling and so were his hands. "Hongjoong they have them shoved against the freezers. They aren't going to last much longer. I can be in and out of there in a flash."

"No, it's too risky." Hongjoong said at the same time Seonghwa said "No."

There was no way Wooyoung could go in there by himself. There could be more men hiding in there that they hadn't found yet.

"This is what I do Hongjoong. I get in and get out without being seen. I can do this."

Seonghwa grabbed his shoulder and yanked on him, forcing the younger to look at him. "Are you crazy? You can't go down there. There are too many of them!" Concern for the younger flooded through him, especially when he saw the deadly glint in Wooyoung's eyes.

"And you'll be covering my back." Wooyoung said as he nodded at Seonghwa's gun.

Then he spun on his heel and ran back to the stairs.

"Fuck! Wooyoung get back here!"

"Seonghwa what's going on?" Hongjoong asked, his tone understandably angry.

"He's gone." Seonghwa said as he quickly reattached the scope to his gun and aimed it at the street, looking for Wooyoung's shape to cross the street.

"Please tell me you're joking."

"I'm not." Seonghwa said as his breathing got quicker.

"All units stand down. I have an asset going in to try and handle this." Hongjoong said urgently over the radio.

"Come again Chief? Who is going in?" One of the officers asked.

There was a long silence and Seonghwa was pretty sure Hongjoong was flipping out back at the precinct.

He caught a flash of movement and saw Wooyoung dash across the street and head down the alley that led to the back of the store. "He's almost there."

"He's one of mine. Do. Not. Shoot. Him." Hongjoong said, his voice commanding enough that it sent chills down Seonghwa's spine. "I have a sniper on the roof. Keep up the barricade though to try and distract them."

"Yes, Sir."

Seonghwa's heart pounded as he trained his scope on the back of the store, waiting for any sign of Wooyoung to appear at the back of the store.

One thing was certain though, if Wooyoung made it out of this alive, Seonghwa was going to kill him.


	14. Chapter 14

"I'm about ready to sedate him!" Hongjoong shouted as he paced back and forth.

Yunho flinched at his angry tone and moved a little closer Yeosang, who was staring at Hongjoong with wide eyes.

The hacker had never seen Hongjoong this upset, and honestly it scared him a little bit. He watched as Hongjoong rubbed his eyebrow hard enough that he was expecting the hairs to start falling to the ground.

And then there was Yunho, standing casually sipping his coffee. If he was this calm, though, then Hongjoong must not be that serious about sedating Wooyoung. Plus he had already told the officers to stand down.

Yeosang popped his sucker back in his mouth and sat down in front of his computers again.

His eyes flicked expertly between all the monitors, waiting for them to finish downloading everything he needed.

The sooner he could get his system up and running, the sooner he could be an asset to Wooyoung and Seonghwa with his drones. If they had a couple of extra eyes in the sky then that could make all the difference.

Plus he had a few surprises up his sleeve.

His fingers flew across the keyboard as he pushed the candy in his mouth into his cheek and leaned forward. "Drones being deployed now."

Hongjoong stopped pacing and came to stand behind him. Both he and Yunho stared at the screens, impressed looks on their faces as three of the screens showed the camera view from the three drones now flying to the building in question.

One flew over the roof and gave them a few of where Seonghwa was set up with his sniper rifle. It was trained on the building across the street. If they didn't know any better, he would easily pass for a statue.

"Scanning building..." Yeosang muttered as he programmed all three machines to fly in circles.

On a fourth screen, a digital scan started to appear of the four story building.

"Wow. I didn't know we could do this." Yunho said, leaning forward.

Yeosang just nodded, keeping his eyes flicking between all the information in front of him. "Once this scan is complete, I should be able to pick up everyone who is inside that building. Then we can relay it to Wooyoung and give him their position."

"Good." Hongjoong said, nodding once before leaning on the desk.

.

.

.

.

Wooyoung's heart raced as he crept down the alleyway. He knew this area well, so he knew right where the door was that would lead him to the back entrance of the store.

He was completely silent as he kept low to the ground and crossed one foot over the other.

There were five men inside, and he was willing to bet that there would be one more standing by the back door keeping watch.

If they were demanding that kind of money for a politician's son they would be taking precautions.

And he was right.

Once the back door was in sight, he saw a thug leaning against the wall with his gun resting against a box in front of him.

He looked bored. That was good.

Wooyoung smirked as he picked up a rock and threw it at the far end of the alley.

The man straightened up and grabbed his gun, pointing it in the direction of the sound as he started to walk forward.

Wooyoung darted from cover to cover, always staying in a crouch as he made his way closer. This was his favorite part. It was like a game of 'let's see how close you can get without being discovered'.

It was a game that he always won.

When Wooyoung was completely behind the thug, he pulled out a longer knife from his belt and prepared himself.

Then he ran forward and jumped, still completely silent, onto the man's back and plunged the dagger into his throat before he could even react.

They both dropped to the ground and Wooyoung caught the body and gun before they made and noise and gently laid them down.

Walking to the back door, he pressed his ear against it and scratched his nails over the metal surface several times.

Silence answered him so he pushed it open carefully and just wide enough for him to slip inside before closing it again.

He was inside the storage room for all of the dry goods so he had plenty of cover if needed.

"Seonghwa," He whispered into his bracelet.

"I hear you. Where are you?" The older answered with a harsh tone.

"In the back storage room. How are we looking?"

"The same."

"Wooyoung, Yeosang has drones scanning the building, hang tight and we can tell you how many men are inside." Hongjoong said.

"No can do, Chief. Those hostages don't have much longer." Wooyoung started to move forward, his head swiveling back and forth as he scanned the isles.

"Don't be a fool, Wooyoung!" Hongjoong snapped.

He was in so much trouble, but at this moment all he could think about was rescuing the hostages. So he didn't answer and kept moving forward until he found another, larger door.

Pulling out another knife, he pulled this door open and slipped into the hallway that was behind the freezers. A few of the back panels were clear, so he was able to get a view of the inside of the store.

Still five men.

And he could see every hostage shivering as they tried to pull their hands free from their ropes.

One of the men walked up to the senator's son and yelled something at him before slamming the end of his gun against the side of his head, making it snap to the side.

Wooyoung flinched at the action and vowed he would be the first to die. He could take out these back two easily. It would be the three up front that could pose and issue once they discovered he was there.

But he had to do something. He wouldn't abandon these people. They needed him like he had needed someone in the past. And he got no one.

Once he found the door that would take him into the store, Wooyoung pulled out two more knives. He placed one between his teeth and held one in each hand. Then he turned the handle and sent up a thank you prayer that the door was oiled so it opened soundlessly.

"Wooyoung stop!" Yeosang's voice cut through his mental preparation to proceed. "There are several men above you too, I think this is a trap."

His eyes widened and he backed up a few paces and hid next to the generator that kept the freezers running. "What?" He hissed into his bracelet.

"There are five men in the main floor, but I count... seven on the floor above."

"I see them too now that you say that." Seonghwa said. "I'm sorry Hongjoong, I should have caught that."

"It's ok, none of us knew. Wooyoung, I want you to fall back. Now." Hongjoong commanded.

Wooyoung shook his head. "I can't do that. They need me. Seonghwa are you ready?"

"Wooyoung that was an order! I will sedate you!"

His heart pounded in his chest at the thought of going through that again. "They need me. Please, I can't abandon them." Wooyoung pleaded, wincing as his voice cracked.

A string of colorful curse words exited Hongjoong's mouth, and it sounded like Seonghwa might have thrown a couple in there as well.

He couldn't wait for them to decide. So Wooyoung moved back forward and slipped through the open door.

The two men had their backs turned, so he was able to creep up to the first hostage. It was an older woman who looked at him with wide eyes and looked like she was about to scream, but Wooyoung covered her mouth, nimbly moving his knife out of the way, and placed a finger over where his lips were behind his mask.

Then he slowly moved and slit the ropes binding her hands and pointed at the door behind him.

She replaced his hand with hers as she crawled across the floor and out the door.

The other hostages had taken notice of him by now and all shifted to give him easier access to their ropes.

Things were going smoothly. Soon all that was left was the politician's son. And he looked dazed still.

Wooyoung tapped his shoulder, holding a finger to his lips again. The boy looked at him and blinked several times before his head rolled to the side.

He was going to make things more difficult...

Wooyoung freed his hands as well and tried to motion for him to move.

The boy groaned.

Wooyoung froze.

The two men spun around and were about to announce his presence, but they dropped to the ground immediately with knives sticking out of their chests.

The damage was done, though.

Their guns clattered against the ground, alerting the three at the front of the store. "Someone's here!" One called out.

Wooyoung heard movement above him as he grabbed the boy's arms and started to drag him across the floor.

"There! He's got the boy!" One man aimed his gun at Wooyoung.

He pulled out the knife from between his teeth and was about to throw it when the man dropped to the ground at the same time the glass from a window at the front shattered. Blood pooled beside the gun hole in his head.

Two more shots were fired and two more thumps were heard.

"Wooyoung get your ass out of there now!" Seonghwa growled.

"They are coming down the stairs, you're going to have to hide." Yeosang cut in.

Wooyoung grabbed the senator's son again and dragged him over to the generator, shoving him in the corner. The boy groaned again and reached up to rub his head.

"Shut up." Wooyoung hissed, covering him with his body and pressing a hand to his mouth.

Several sets of footsteps echoed behind him and Wooyoung tilted his head slightly so he could watch from the corner of his eye.

He could feel his heart pounding in his chest at the same pace as the boy beneath him.

"They're dead! What the fuck happened here?" Someone shouted.

"Do you want me to take them out?" Seonghwa asked.

"No. Hold your ground. They have probably called for backup. Only engage if they discover Wooyoung." Hongjoong said. He sounded tense.

Wooyoung gritted his teeth and prayed that the other hostages had been smart enough to leave the building.

"What are we going to do? Boss isn't going to like this. We needed that money."

"How did this happen?"

"Dodge is dead! They came through the back door."

"But the police are still out front."

"Find them! They have to still be here!"

The men could be heard scurrying around behind him.

"Stay put Wooyoung." Yeosang muttered in his ear. "There's one standing right by you."

"Seonghwa, can you fire off a shot to try and draw their attention? Wooyoung we have a car waiting to pick you up." Hongjoong asked.

He was answered with windows shattering at another part of the building.

Wooyoung held his breath as he listened to the men run in the direction of the sound.

"Go. Now." Yeosang ordered.

Wooyoung stooped and lifted the boy over his shoulders. It was incredibly awkward seeing as he was taller, but he was in no condition to walk and dragging him wasn't going to work.

He quickly ducked into the storage room, listening for Yeosang to tell him to stop, but it never came.

They were back outside in a matter of minutes and running back down the alley. Wooyoung could feel his muscles trembling in his legs as he struggled to make it to the car that was parked at the end.

Then they gave out and he collapsed underneath the limp body on his shoulders. He cried out in pain as his ankle twisted, but he scrunched his eyes shut and pushed through it as he pushed the boy off him and grabbed him under his arms to drag him.

"Wooyoung hurry!" Yeosang called.

He looked up to see one of the drones hovering several feet above his head. Then the back door slammed open and one of the men glanced at him.

Wooyoung pulled out one of his knives and threw it with a quick flick of his wrist, but the man dodged it and raised his gun.

"Stop right there."

Hissing in pain as he put pressure on his foot, Wooyoung slowly lowered the boy to the ground and raised his hands.

"Seonghwa, you need to get there now." Hongjoong ordered.

Wooyoung wanted to tell them to stay back, but he couldn't speak with the man staring at him. He took a deep breath to calm his racing heart as he eyed the obstacles in the alley.

"Keep your hands up and back away slowly." The man growled, taking a step forward.

"Do as he says." Yeosang whispered.

"Hang on, I'm almost in position." Seonghwa added.

Wooyoung bit the inside of his lower lip. There was no way he'd make it in time. He watched as the man lowered one hand to grab a radio at his hip.

He took that moment to roll to the side, slipping one of the knives out of his boot and throwing it over his shoulder.

"Son of a bitch." The man yelled and Wooyoung heard him running forward.

Waiting for the perfect moment, Wooyoung stuck out a leg and made him trip, sending him face first into the concrete ground. Then he leapt onto the man's back and drove his last knife down into the man's heart, panting heavily.

Once he was sure the man was dead, Wooyoung returned to the unconscious boy and dragged him to the car.

The sped away to a meeting point to pick up Seonghwa and drove in silence back to the precinct.

He could feel Seonghwa's eyes on him, but he focused on looking out the window as he held the boy in his lap. He was still out cold and his lips were still slightly blue from his time by the freezers. But he looked like he would be ok.

Medics met them at the front door and took the senator's son from him.

Wooyoung ignored their offer to check him out and limped past them. All he wanted to do was go lay down and recover from the night's events, but he knew that wasn't going to happen.

As they entered their wing of the jail, Seonghwa finally took action. He gripped Wooyoung's collar and ripped his own mask off. He grey eyes made Wooyoung flinch and look down immediately. "What the fuck was that, Wooyoung? You could have been killed!"

"But I wasn't. So what's the big deal?" He muttered, trying to push Seonghwa away from him.

That look... It made him feel so weak. His knees started to shake and he closed his eyes.

"Look at me." Seonghwa ordered, gripping his collar tighter and lifting him up so he was balancing on his toes.

Wooyoung followed the order and trembled with fear.

"Why did you do that?" The older growled.

"I couldn't leave them..." Wooyoung whimpered. "P-Please... Please let me go." He flinched inwardly at how pathetic he sounded.

The others started to gather in the hall as Yunho, Yeosang, and Hongjoong came running down the hall.

Seonghwa did as he asked and Wooyoung hissed in pain before putting all his weight on his left leg.

"Wooyoung!" Hongjoong cried out when he saw that the younger was injured. "Why didn't you have the medic look at you?"

"I'm fine. It's just a twisted ankle." He said, looking at the ground again. Here it comes...

"Then what the hell were you thinking? I gave you and order to stay put!" The older snapped.

Wooyoung flinched and kept his eyes on the ground. "I couldn't leave them. They needed help. They were going to freeze."

"We had people there to handle it."

"I couldn't leave them ok?" Wooyoung finally looked up and glared at the police chief.

Hongjoong's chest rose as his face turned red. "And why not? What was so important that you went against MY orders to save some hostages that we were going to rescue?"

"Because I was one of them! And I had no one!" Wooyoung shouted, clenching his fists in anger.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Yunho cover his mouth and San shuffle to stand behind the taller. Yeosang also lifted his hand and placed it on his chest.

Hongjoong's mouth fell open a little and he took a step back.

Wooyoung took that as his chance to go to his room, not wanting to explain, but the second he tried to walk, his leg gave out.

He threw his arms out, preparing to collide with the floor, but Seonghwa swooped in and caught him before he did. The older twisted him and carried him to his room while the others watched in a stunned silence.

Wooyoung glanced up at the older and saw a confused look in his eyes, then looked down again before closing his own eyes and leaning his head against Seonghwa's shoulders, enjoying the slight swaying motion as he walked.


	15. Chapter 15

Hongjoong pursed his lips as he saw Seonghwa disappear with Wooyoung down the hall. He was still fuming on the inside and he didn't know what to do.

Part of him wanted to run after the pair and make sure Wooyoung was ok. The other part wanted to give him the silent treatment and place him in an actual jail cell so he couldn't get out for a bit.

But that wouldn't solve anything.

So he just huffed loudly and started making his way back to his office without saying another word to anyone.

The fact that Wooyoung had disobeyed a direct order was a problem though. And it could lead the others to doing it too. If they didn't respect him as a leader, then the team wouldn't be functional.

Hongjoong paused as soon as he stepped into his office.

What had he really done to show he was a leader though? Sure there had been the one mission he had failed. And he got them set up in their own wing so they could be together... But that was it.

They had no reason to put their faith in him outside of the false freedom they had been given.

He was such a fool...

Just as he was ready to sink to his knees, a pair of arms caught him and kept him standing. "Are you ok?" Mingi's deep voice sent a chill down his spine.

"I feel like I've failed again." Hongjoong whispered as his vision blurred a little. "I'm... I'm not a good leader."

"What makes you say that?" The taller asked, slowly wrapping his arms around Hongjoong's chest and holding him tight.

Hongjoong closed his eyes and found himself leaning into the embrace. It had been a long time since he'd had anyone comfort him...

"I had this grand idea in my head that everything would fall into place. That this would just work." He whispered as he brought a hand up to place it on Mingi's joined hands. "It was foolish, I know. How do I make us a team? This is all so new to me... I'm used to it being just me and Yunho. That's how it's always been."

"Well he should probably be the one you ask then, but, I think the first thing we need to do is get to know each other a little better. I know you gave Yeosang his own area. Is it possible to move all of us over there so we aren't just stuck in our cells? Maybe give everyone a home and they will start to open up a little more. If they are anything like me, they haven't had a home in a long time." Mingi said softly.

Hongjoong could hear the hurt in his voice and knew he was thinking about his parents. He found himself nodding, agreeing with what he was saying. "I'll see what I can do."

He felt Mingi smile into the back of his head as they continued to stand there, not saying anything more, lost in their own thoughts.

.

.

.

.

San glanced at Wooyoung's door before ducking into his own room with Yunho right behind him.

"Have you taken your medicine today?" The taller asked quietly.

_Fuck off._

San jerked his head, trying to shake the voice away. "Y-Yes." He muttered as he clenched his fists. It had been a struggle for him to take it though. His other side fought him every step of the way and even made him try to throw it up again.

It almost succeeded too, but San was determined to win this fight.

"Hey, I know it's hard." Yunho tilted his head and smiled at him. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Can we start training?" The younger looked at him and bit the corner of his lip.

Yunho's eyes narrowed, "I don't see why not. But we should probably start with just us and maybe one other member, just to see how you do."

It was better than nothing, so San smiled and nodded before glancing back at the door. "Do you think he'll be ok?"

_He won't be when we're done with him._

San winced and swallowed. "Stop it." He muttered and ignored the fact that Yunho was now watching him.

_No San. You can't get rid of us. We love you. You need us just as much as we need you._

"No, I don't." San turned around. If he couldn't see Yunho it would be easier to pretend he wasn't there.

_Yes you do. Who else helps you forget? We do. Who makes you stronger? We do. Who protects you? We do._

"N-No..." San whimpered as he wrapped his arms around is stomach. "Go away..." He sank down to his knees. "I don't want to hurt people anymore."

"San?" Yunho whispered behind him.

The younger flinched and dug his nails into his side.

_Get rid of him San. He isn't good for you. He will only hurt you._

"No, he won't. He wants to help me."

_We help you San._

"No, you only force me to hurt people. I don't want to hurt people." San doubled over and pressed his head against the floor. He could feel the hot tears leaving tracks on his cheeks. "Go away, please go away."

Yunho crouched down next to him and started to rub his back. It was a soothing motion. "It's ok. You can fight through this." He whispered. "I know it's hard."

San turned his head to look at him and knew that Yunho spoke the truth. He had so much compassion and concern in his eyes, there was no way he could be lying right now.

The worst looks were always full of pity and fear. That's what San was used to getting. That's what the voices claimed to protect him from.

But there was no pity in Yunho's eyes.

San straightened up as a sudden weight was lifted off his shoulders. He had experienced this a couple of times since starting the medication. The voices would suddenly disappear, usually when Yunho was in the room. He was really good at calming San down.

Just like now.

The younger flashed a grateful smile before leaning into Yunho. "Thank you." He whispered.

Yunho just hummed as he wrapped an arm around San. "You don't need to thank me. I'm just glad that you are fighting through it. I'm really proud of you."

San felt himself blushing at his words. "Can we go train? I'm feeling really good at the moment."

"Sure. Let's see if Jongho is available. Maybe we can spar for a bit."

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Seonghwa slowly lowered Wooyoung to the bed and cringed when he let out a small whimper. "You should have let the paramedics check you out instead of walking past them." He muttered.

Wooyoung didn't answer him, instead choosing to stick out his lower lip a tiny bit and stare at the wall next to his head.

The older sighed and pulled a chair over to the side of the bed. He worked on unlacing Wooyoung's boot and slowly slid it off his foot. But Wooyoung's ankle was so swollen, there was no way to avoid any pain in the action.

A soft knock sounded on the door before it opened and Yeosang popped his head in, followed by Jongho. "We thought you could use some ice."

Seonghwa nodded and sent them a small smile while accepting the bag and placing it on Wooyoung's ankle. The younger flinched, but closed his eyes and relaxed with a sigh. "You fool." Seonghwa whispered.

He saw Wooyoung's lips purse a little, indicating he heard him.

"Can we get you anything?" Jongho asked, sounding worried. "I can see if the paramedics are still here. That looks really bad Wooyoung."

"I'm fine."

"At least let me look at it. I saw injuries like this all the time at the ring. I can at least tell you if it's broken or sprained." The youngest said, slipping past Yeosang.

Wooyoung sighed and covered his eyes with his arm, but didn't show any other signs of protest.

Seonghwa removed the ice and watched as Jongho gently ran his fingers over the swollen ankle. The first time he applied pressure, Wooyoung reached out for Seonghwa as he whimpered in pain.

He took Wooyoung's hand in his and let the younger squeeze as hard as he could.

Jongho's lips were pushed out in a slight pout as he started to slowly rotate Wooyoung's ankle, muttering apologies as he did. "Yeosang, do you think you could track down some bandages?"

"Sure." The hacker said before running from the room.

"I don't think it's broken. But it is badly sprained. You're going to have to stay off it for several days until it's healed." Jongho said as he continued to run his fingers over it.

The door across the hall opened and Seonghwa heard Yunho talking about finding Jongho.

"I'm in here." The fighter said, leaning back so he could be seen through the open door.

"Oh! Well that's handy." Yunho poked his head in with a wide smile that faltered when he saw what was happening. "God, that looks awful. You should-"

"I don't need a paramedic." Wooyoung snapped, not taking his arm off his eyes. "Can everyone just leave me alone?"

Seonghwa shot him a glare even though the younger wouldn't see it. "There's no need to be rude. They are just concerned about you."

He saw Wooyoung visibly shrink back into his bed, but he also squeezed Seonghwa's hand at the same time.

Odd. This boy was definitely a mystery...

"What's going on?" Hongjoong's voice came from the hall.

"Hey Boss." Yunho said.

A small growl came from Hongjoong followed by a deep chuckle that belonged to Mingi. What were they doing together? Or did they show up at the same time.

All Seonghwa knew was that Wooyoung's room was starting to feel very small as Yunho shuffled inside, followed by Hongjoong, while Mingi and San stayed in the doorway.

Yeosang came back shortly after with a roll of bandages.

"Thank you." Jongho said, taking them from the hacker and started working on wrapping Wooyoung's ankle methodically.

"Well I'm glad you are all here because I was going to call a meeting." Hongjoong said, glancing at all of them. "I want to talk to you all about something, but first..." He looked down at where Wooyoung was still hiding behind his arm. "I think you owe me, no all of us, an explanation."

Seonghwa agreed, but he didn't know if cornering Wooyoung like this was the best idea. He was about to say something when Wooyoung sighed and let his arm fall to his side.

The younger shifted and worked to sit up. Jongho reached out and took his other hand to help pull him into a sitting position. "I'll be right back." He said quickly before running from the room.

Seonghwa stood and helped Wooyoung scoot back on the bed so he could sit against the headboard with his pillow propped up behind is back.

Wooyoung gave him a pained smile and closed his eyes as his hand reached out and took ahold of Seonghwa's again.

He looked down at where they were joined and chewed on the inside of his cheek. He didn't know how he felt about it, but decided he would address that later. For now, Wooyoung needed him.

Jongho returned carrying a couple of pillows. He gently lifted Wooyoung's ankle off the bed and placed it on top of the pillows before taking the ice from Seonghwa. "You need to keep it elevated. And he'll need some pain meds to help with the inflammation." He said, turning to Hongjoong.

The chief nodded and pulled out his cell phone to send a quick text before putting it back in his pocket and staring at Wooyoung.

Seonghwa felt himself bristle a little and glared at Hongjoong. Again he wanted to say that this wasn't the right way to do this, but Wooyoung's voice made him freeze.

"I was taken from my family when I was eleven. It was my fault. I wasn't paying attention and got separated from them. A man grabbed me and pulled me into the back of his van. I was bound and gagged instantly and placed beside five other kids." Wooyoung said, staring at a spot on his bed. "They... They were an underground sex trafficking group that took kids and sold them to the highest bidder. Many were sold to personal owners. I was bought by an owner of... Of..." he closed his eyes and cringed. "A whore house."

Shuffling could be heard from the group at his words, but no one spoke. Seonghwa couldn't take his eyes off the younger as he struggled to tell his story.

"I'm sure you all can guess what happened and I really don't want to go into the details." He whispered.

"That's fine." Seonghwa said quickly, glaring at the others, daring them to say something different. He knew there was something that happened there that had traumatized Wooyoung, and maybe he'd find out at another time, but for now just the summary would be enough.

"I spent so long wishing that someone would free me... But no one did... That's why I couldn't leave the hostages behind." Wooyoung finally looked up, first glancing at Seonghwa, then at Hongjoong. "I couldn't abandon them. There was no telling what could have happened to them after they did, or didn't, get their money."

Hongjoong just nodded slowly, his forehead creasing with concern.

"How did you escape?" Yunho asked softly. He had his arm around San, who was staring at the floor and was trembling slightly as he clung to the taller's shirt.

Wooyoung let out a low, dark laugh. "How do you think?"

Seonghwa shivered at the change that crossed over the younger. This wasn't going to be pretty...

"I finally managed to get ahold of a knife. Some fool who bought me for the night had one on him." The darkness was suddenly gone as the memory flashed across Wooyoung's mind and Seonghwa watched as he retreated into himself. "I... I..."

"You don't have to tell us." Seonghwa said, squeezing Wooyoung's hand.

He thought he heard San mutter something behind him, but he refused to look away from Wooyoung.

"I managed to push him off me after I... I got free..."

Seonghwa froze. Free? Does that mean he had been restrained? That would explain a lot of things.

"I grabbed his knife and... And slit his throat. He was my first kill." Wooyoung's voice got a little harder as he looked up at Yunho and Hongjoong. "I know murder is wrong. But the people I killed were all men and women like him. And the people who owned places like that."

Yunho's mouth opened a little. "And we caught you coming out of one..."

"Yes. I don't want anyone to have to go through what I did. No one deserves it. I swear to you that those are the only people I killed. Them, and any sex traffickers I came across."

Hongjoong glanced at his partner. "There was that one auction we had been alerted to after people started flooding out of a building." He gasped, then turned back to Wooyoung. "Was that you?"

"Yes. I had been following them for weeks and planned out to destroy that operation." A small smile crossed Wooyoung's face. "I killed the traffickers and freed everyone who had been taken. I hope the children found their parents." He whispered.

Seonghwa forced down all the questions that came to his mind. Those could be saved for another day, so he decided to change the subject. Especially when he saw the tears coming to Wooyoung's eyes. His heart sank a little at the sight.

"So what did you want to talk to us about?" He asked, forcing himself to tear his eyes away from Wooyoung.

"I have come to the realization that I haven't been a good leader." Hongjoong said, his voice adopting an authoritative tone. "That is my fault. I want to be better. If this is going to work, then we need to become a team, and we can't do that the way things have been going. So, I contacted my boss and got permission to buy the entire building that we have Yeosang set up in. I want us all to move in there together."

Seonghwa sat up a little straighter. The idea intrigued him. He had been feeling the same way and felt himself wanting to get to know the others.

He wanted to redeem himself. He wanted a chance to be a better person. Especially after listening to what Wooyoung had been through.

"Really?" Yunho asked, still holding onto San, although the younger looked like he had calmed down a little.

"Yes. I won't force you to, but I've already put my apartment up for a sublease. I want to live there with you." Hongjoong looked around the room again. "We are going to work on becoming a team so we can, hopefully, make things right again in the world. I hope you all with join me, and give this as much of a chance as I am."

Seonghwa felt a trickle of pride run through him. Hongjoong would make a god leader, he just needed to learn how to be one. And that would come with support. Support that he was willing to give.

He stood and held his hand out in front of him. "I will." He glanced at the others, ending with Wooyoung.

The younger had a look of confusion on his face, but then he too held up his hand.

The other six followed suit as they were all joined in the center.

It was their first moment as a team. Seonghwa could feel it.

They were going to make this work.


	16. Chapter 16

Jongho wiped his hands on his pants to clean off the cardboard dust as he looked around the room. He was very proud of it, having spent two days getting it set up to his standards.

Hongjoong had been true to his word and bought the building down the street from the precinct. The entire team had moved in there, including Yunho, and they were given their own rooms and own spaces.

Jongho took one of the larger rooms and turned it into a gym. The center had a ring where they could wrestle or box, there was one wall of mirrors, and there were various pieces of exercise equipment placed in other areas. A stack of mats was in the far corner and the far end of the room had a door that led to a room with a couple of showers in it.

And he had done all this by exploring the unused rooms in the precinct. So the ring in the center was just made out of metal poles and some rope he found, but it would work for now. The mirrors were technically the double sided ones used in the interrogation rooms, but he had been given permission to take them, so he did.

"Wow! This looks great!" Yunho's voice came from behind him. Jongho turned, feeling his pride rise even more as both Yunho and Hongjoong looked around the room.

"Thank you. It's no professional gym, but I think it'll for us for now. I would like to ask..." He said, rubbing his earlobe between his forefinger and thumb, "Would it be possible to get a couple of punching bags?"

"I don't see why not." Hongjoong said, flashing a smile. "This is amazing Jongho. And the fact that you did this without touching our budget, up until now, is impressive. Thank you."

The younger felt himself blush a little as he pursed his lips. "It's not that big of a deal. I've just learned to be resourceful."

"It is a big deal." Hongjoong walked forward and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Because the less we spend elsewhere, is more we have to put into other things we need. Specifically Yeosang. If we can get him the latest gear, then he will be an even bigger help to us."

"We actually wanted to talk to you about something to see how you felt." Yunho crossed his arms and tapped his foot.

Was he nervous about something? Jongho looked between the two of them and bit the inside of his cheek.

"With us being set up in this building, all of us, it increases the possibility of being discovered. Now that's a risk I'm willing to take," Hongjoong said, holding up his hands as Jongho opened his mouth to protest, "But it is still a risk. Yeosang is going to be here full time to watch us from the sky. He's already proven to be invaluable."

Yunho nodded in agreement. "If he hadn't been watching the hostage situation, there's no saying what would have happened to Wooyoung"

"So what does this have to do with me? I have no idea how to do any of that stuff, so I can't help him if that's what you're getting at."

Hongjoong shook his head quickly. "Not exactly. Yeosang is going to need someone to protect him. We'd like you to do that."

Jongho's forehead creased with confusion. They wanted to leave him behind to be a body guard? His heart sank a little at the thought of it. "But..."

"It may not be all the time." Yunho added, talking a little slower as a concerned look crossed his face. "But it would probably be most missions. He needs someone to watch his back just in case someone breaks in and tries to go after him. We don't want him here by himself."

"And we picked you because you are good at reading situations. Plus you are strong, but can still handle yourself when it comes to weapons." Hongjoong said.

"But why not the others?"

The oldest sighed and started to rub his eyebrow. "Honestly? It just seemed to fit in our mind. Seonghwa is another set of eyes in the sky with his sniper abilities. Mingi and Wooyoung, once his ankle heals, have the stealth down."

"And San is still a little unpredictable so I'd rather have him harm me than catch Yeosang by surprise." Yunho said softly, avoiding Hongjoong's slight glare. "So he will be by my side until we can get a few things straightened out."

"Why is he even still here and not in the looney bin?" Jongho found himself saying and instantly regretted it.

Yunho's face hardened and he clenched his fists before turned and storming from the room.

"I'm sorry... I didn't mean that." The youngest muttered, glancing down at the floor.

"It's ok, Jongho. Honestly I ask myself that sometimes too. Yunho has faith that the medication is working, so we will take it one step at a time. But San is still here because he has proven himself when it comes to stealth and weapons as well."

"So I'm just the lumbering oaf that doesn't have a place?" Jongho snapped, turning his head to the side.

"That is not what I meant at all."

"Well that's sure what it sounds like! I'm not and expert at stealth or weapons, but I can 'handle myself' so that means I can be someone's body guard. Left behind and forgotten!"

"Jong-"

"Don't worry." Jongho finally looked at Hongjoong and saw him flinch. "I'll do it so I can 'earn my freedom'. And I'll make sure I die before they ever touch him." He growled before spinning around and leaving the room through a different door than Yunho did.

They really wanted to leave him behind to just sit around with Yeosang? If he wanted the easy way out this was sure it. But he wanted to be more useful than that. It felt like he was just being tossed aside. Was it because he didn't kill enough people? Was that it? He only ran an illegal fighting pit?

Jongho turned and punched a hole in the wall, crying out as the drywall busted open, followed by his knuckles when they came in contact with cement.

He cradled his hand to his chest and whimpered a little.

All he wanted was to be a part of the team. To belong. So why was he being tossed aside? What did he do wrong?

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Yeosang sighed as he turned another corner, working on his mental map of the building. He wanted to memorize every floor, hallway, door, and window so he didn't need to waste time pulling out a map of the place, so he had taken to walking it several times a day.

He pushed the sucker in his mouth around with his tongue. He needed to tell Hongjoong he would need some more soon. Maybe their leader would let him go out and do some shopping to stock up the large kitchen they had.

That would be really nice. Yeosang realized he hadn't been outside for more than a few minutes for several weeks now. He had been so busy setting up his 'base' as he liked to call it.

Hongjoong had said something about going to talk to Jongho, so Yeosang turned to head toward the gym the younger was building.

As he turned another corner, Yeosang smiled when he saw Jongho in front of him. "Hey Jo-" He paused when he saw Jongho pull his hand to his chest and whimper. Yeosang pulled the sucker from his mouth and ran forward. "What happened?" He asked, looking between Jongho and the hole in the wall.

"Nothing." The younger grumbled, trying to turn away.

"Stop, let me look at it." Yeosang said softly, grabbing Jongho's hand and pulling it to him. It wasn't horrible, but a couple of his knuckles were bloody. "Come on, let's get you cleaned up."

"I'm fine." Jongho said, pulling his hand away. "What are you doing here?"

Yeosang to a step back and let his hands fall to his sides. "They told you the plan, didn't they?"

Anger flashed in Jongho's eyes as he turned his head away.

The older slowly put his sucker back in his mouth before sighing and running his hand through his hair. He pushed the piece of candy into his cheek and sighed. "I knew you'd be upset. But then again so would any of the others. I'll figure out some alarm system to set up or something so I can at least have advance warning if someone is coming for me." He said quickly before turning on his heel and walking away.

He had tried to talk Hongjoong out of the idea, knowing that no one would want to be left behind. He himself didn't mind, this is where he belonged. He liked being behind the scenes.

But it was obvious that everyone else was a front-line player. Even San gave off that vibe.

Yeosang huffed as he lost track of where he was going and ended up in the kitchen. He had accepted a long time ago that he would always be alone. "I'm not meant to have anyone in my life." He whispered, looking at his reflection on the refrigerator.

"I'm sorry." Jongho said, making Yeosang jump.

The older turned around and had to stop himself from smiling at the adorable pout on Jongho's face. He was even scrapping his foot across the floor like a little kid who got in trouble. "It's ok. I get it."

Jongho looked up at him and cringed. "No, it's not. I... I tend to have a bit of a temper when I feel like I'm being ganged up on. I didn't mean to take it out on you."

Yeosang tilted his head a little. "I understand why you would be upset. But it's not that they are leaving you behind." He watched as Jongho's eyes fell to the floor again. Yeosang knew that's what the younger would be feeling. "You are just needed elsewhere." What he didn't say was that he didn't want to be left alone...

"I know. And I'll do my best to help you." Jongho said softly. They stood in silence for a moment before the younger lifted his head. "What did you mean?"

"With what?"

"When you said you're not meant to have anyone in your life?" Jongho murmured, looking back down as if worried he would be in trouble for hearing Yeosang's words.

The older sighed while moving the sucker in his mouth to the other cheek. "I never knew my dad. But my mom died when I was thirteen. Cancer..."

"I'm so sorry." Jongho took a step forward and looked like he wanted to reach for Yeosang but thought better of it.

"Yeah. I miss her a lot. She was a wonderful, caring person. A teacher." Yeosang glanced back at his reflection, imagining seeing his mom standing behind him. "She cared so much for her students. And was paid shit. We could barely make ends meet and there were several times she didn't eat to try and save money. But she always made sure I had a warm meal. She didn't deserve the card she was dealt..." His eyes started to water as the image of his mom faded.

Suddenly Jongho's strong arms were wrapped around him. "You have us now. We can be your new family. Even I have to be the annoying little brother who you can't stand. I'll be here for you."

Yeosang let out a small sob as he hugged the younger back.

This was nice. He really liked this feeling. "Thank you."

Jongho just nodded before stepping away. He glanced down at his hand and his face formed another pout again.

"Come on, let's get you cleaned up." Yeosang smiled at him while rubbing his tears from his face. He started rummaging through the drawers in the kitchen until he found a rag that he stuck under the faucet to get it damp.

Then he took Jongho's hand and started to dab at his skin, cleaning up the small spots of dried blood. "You should get some disinfectant on this too, but this will work for now."

"Thanks, I should probably go and try to fix the wall." Jongho sighed, rubbing the back of his neck with his other hand.

Yeosang chuckled. "Maye you can teach me how to punch like that some time. It would probably come in handy."

"I did get the gym finished. So we can definitely train in there and I can show you a few ways to defend yourself. That's really why I started the fighting ring. I wanted to teach people how to protect themselves."

"Really?"

Jongho nodded quickly. "I had to teach myself, and it wasn't easy. So I decided I wanted to pass on my knowledge. Things kind of evolved from there and competitions were started. I always drafted up the matches and spoke with the fighters before and after the match to coach them."

"Wow, that's amazing Jongho." Yeosang said, feeling his eyes widen a little. "Not a lot of people would take the time to help others." He added softly, knowing that was his secret too.

The younger blushed and pulled his hand back. "Th-Thanks. I'm going to go take a look at that wall." He said quickly before practically running from the room.

Yeosang sighed and glanced down at the towel in his hand, suddenly feeling very alone again as he made his way to the laundry room.


	17. Chapter 17

"Alright, do you have everything you think you need?" Yunho asked as he looked around San's room. They had just put the finishing touches on it to try and make him feel more comfortable.

The younger stood in the center of it, hands clasped in front of him, as he looked around nervously.

The bed had been situated in the corner with a large, fluffy comforter and several pillows. There was a small, stuffed dog on there too. San had asked for one to sleep with at night and Yunho couldn't find it in his heart to say no.

He hoped that it would help, along with the bright pictures on the wall. He was also given a desk and Yunho had bought him a few journals for him to write down his thoughts in.

San seemed to like the idea and was willing to try it.

He hadn't had an 'episode' for a few days now, so Yunho had faith that the medicine was working. Dr. Kim had also come by to see him for the first therapy session.

That went very well and San seemed very relaxed after it.

"I don't think so." San mumbled.

"It's ok San. You don't need to be scared." Yunho said, moving to stand next to him and place a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm not. I just feel... weird. I can't remember the last time I had a room to call my own."

Once again Yunho felt his heart break at San's words. He had gone through life alone, without any help besides the 'help' the voices claimed to give him.

They only succeeded in landing him in jail.

With Yuri, Yunho had been a constant support for her after their parents died so she always had someone to lean on.

San turned to look at him with a genuine smile on his face. "Thank you for this."

Yunho shook his hands back and forth. "You don't need to thank me. It's really not a big deal. I just hope you'll be comfortable in here."

The younger rubbed his arm and looked around again. "Me too."

"Come on, Hongjoong wanted to have a group meeting to go over a few things."

San's smile grew as he followed Yunho out of his room and down the stairs.

Everyone else was already gathered in their living room, all sitting a little ways away from each other. Except for Mingi and Hongjoong. The two of them were talking to each other quietly at the front of the room.

Yunho paused when he saw a smile cross Hongjoong's face at something the taller said. It was a smile he had never seen before... What was going on there?

He felt himself bristling a little bit as he watched the pair.

Then he felt San stop next to him and he turned to see a worried look on San's face as he looked around the room.

"It's ok." Yunho whispered, walking over to the couch and sitting on the end. He patted the cushion next to him and San quickly came to sit down, fiddling with his own hands.

Yeosang, who was on Yunho's other side, leaned forward to look at San. He still showed signs of being a little scared of the younger, but at least he forced a small smile as he asked, "Did you get your room situated San?"

"Y-Yes, I did." San glanced at him and sat up a little straighter.

"It's really nice here, isn't it?" Yeosang let out a soft chuckle, then sat back as Hongjoong cleared his throat and turned to the group.

Yunho watched as everyone leaned forward accept for Wooyoung, who was situated in the corner of the 'L' shaped couch with this foot propped up on a pillow.

The younger looked down at the clock his bracelet generates and then taps Seonghwa's shoulder.

"Hang on a second, Hongjoong. I'll be right back." The eldest said quickly, hopping up and running into the kitchen. He came back with an ice pack and placed it carefully on Wooyoung's ankle, scrunching his face and muttering an apology when Wooyoung winced.

"How are you doing?" Hongjoong asked gently, sitting down on the ottoman he was in front of.

"Ok." Wooyoung sighed as he settled back into the cushions.

"It's healing, just very slowly." Jongho said, glancing in Wooyoung's direction. "But that's an ok thing. It was a pretty serious sprain."

"Just make sure you keep taking care of yourself so you heal properly." Hongjoong said, earning a quick nod from Wooyoung. "Now, I wanted to talk about a few things. But first, I feel like I owe you all an apology."

Yunho tilted his head. "Why?" He asked.

His friend looked at him with a sad expression. "Because I haven't been a very good leader. I have already made a few mistakes when it comes to our team. One of them resulting in injuring Wooyoung."

"But I-" Wooyoung started to say, but Hongjoong held up his hand.

"I made a mistake because I didn't trust you. That is where I have already failed. I am expecting you to trust me with your lives and freedom, and I was ready to sedate you in a heartbeat for not following my orders."

Yunho knew that was true, but for Hongjoong to admit that he didn't trust he others was huge. And he thought he was the only one who had a hard time with trust...

San shifted next to him and looked down at his lap.

"So I'm going to vow to you right now," Hongjoong continued, "To work on trusting all of you. This is my first step." He said, motioning to their new house. "I want us to be together, under one roof, so we can work on being more of a team. And that's going to mean training together, eating together, living together, and even going out together."

"Going out?" Jongho asked, a hint of excitement in his voice.

Hongjoong smiled and nodded. "Yes. Mingi brought up a good point to me. I can't expect you to work seven days a week. That being said... This is going to be treated as an 'on call' job. So while we will all have some freedom, you more than me because I still need to take care of the officers at the precinct."

Yunho felt his hands starting to shake as he thought about what this could mean. It's not like they could run, not with the bracelets. And giving them the chance to know one another would help with morale if they actually wanted this to be successful.

Then his eyes fell on Mingi, who was watching Hongjoong with a soft smile on his face. Mingi watched his every movement. Had Hongjoong caved to the younger's advances?

Yunho glanced down when he realized it had been awhile since he and Hongjoong had really been able to sit down and talk. It hit him just how much he missed his friend...

"Yunho is going to be in charge of this area, so all questions will go through him when I'm not here." Hongjoong glanced at Yunho. It was a look showing he had complete confidence in Yunho to be his second in command.

The taller sat a little straighter and nodded.

"Until we have information for a mission, I expect everyone to spend time training, at least for part of the day. The more you can teach each other, and the more versatile you can be, the better chance we have of succeeding."

"But you said we are allowed to go outside?" San asked quietly.

Yunho turned to look at him, happy to see San opening up a little.

Hongjoong nodded. "Yes. I just have a few conditions, and while I don't think it's asking for much, please tell me if it is. If you decide to go out, all I ask is you tell me or Yunho where you are going and when you intend to be back by. And check in if you think you're going to be late. And I'd also like it if you go out in pairs, that way you always have someone watching your back."

"That seems perfectly fair." Seonghwa said, glancing around the room. "You are already putting a lot of faith in us, so we can do that for you."

The others all nodded in agreement.

"And then we come back here if something comes up?" Wooyoung asked. "What if we see something while we are out? What if something happens?"

Hongjoong sighed and ran his hand through his hair while placing the other one on his bouncing knee. "Radio in first and observe." He looked up at the younger, who looked like he didn't fully like that answer. "Only because you may not be equipped to handle it depending on the situation and I don't want you to go in unprotected. We will survey the situation and go from there. I only want that for your safety. Can you do that for me, please?"

Wooyoung took a deep breath, then nodded slowly. "Yeah. That's fair." He said softly as he shifted in his seat.

Seonghwa stood and gently lifted the ice pack off his ankle before walking back into the kitchen.

Yunho stood and followed him, desperately needing some coffee. He just realized he'd only had one cup today, which must be why he's so moody.

The older glanced up at him when he stepped into the kitchen and made a beeline for the coffee pot. "Are you ok with all this?" Seonghwa asked quietly.

"Yeah, I think so. It's just a lot to take in still. Hongjoong seems confident though and I trust him with my life, so I will trust his judgement." Yunho said with a slight pout as he started brewing his coffee.

"We have a lot of learning to do." Seonghwa agreed, sighing as he closed the freezer door after placing the ice pack in it. When he turned, a small smile crossed his face. "You have a shadow."

Yunho looked over and saw San peeking around the corner, looking uncomfortable. He smiled at the younger and waved him over as he turned back to the pot.

He felt rather than saw San stop next to him and heard Seonghwa chuckle as he left the room.

"Are you ok?" Yunho asked, glancing down at where San was looking around the kitchen.

"Yes." He said with a nod.

"Why do you look scared then?" Yunho knew that getting San talking about his feelings was a good way to get him to understand them better and get him out of his shell.

"The others give me strange looks. They don't like me like you do..." He muttered as he stepped a little closer.

Yunho was used to seeing this. Yuri got the same way when she was recovering from an 'episode'. She was always a little more clingy and felt uncomfortable around others because Yunho was the one who cared for her.

He poured himself a cup of coffee and added cream and sugar without saying anything. This was also something he was used to. He knew that he couldn't feed into it because San needed to learn to be his own person. He couldn't be the person that San relied on for everything.

The younger looked up at him briefly, then back at the floor as he started to fidget again.

"It's ok San. No one is going to hurt you. They just need to see that you are doing ok, and you need to keep up on your medicine, ok?" Yunho reached up and ruffled San's hair, earning a bright smile from the younger.

Then San surprised him by turning and wrapping his arms around Yunho's waist and pressing his face into his chest.

The taller froze and looked down at him, feeling a small warmth forming in the pit of his stomach. What was that about? He had only ever felt that a couple of other times... And only for one other person...

No, it had to be a mistake. He just wanted to help San. That was all.

And yet he found his free hand cupping the back of San's head for a brief moment.

The conversation started to pick up again in the other room, so Yunho downed his coffee and prepared a second cup before walking back into the living room with San close behind.

As they sat on the couch again, Hongjoong turned and flashed a smile. "We were just talking about setting up a schedule for everyone."

Yeosang nodded. "Yes, we should all take turns doing things around the house. Like we should rotate who goes grocery shopping, who cooks, who cleans, things like that."

"That sounds like a good idea." Mingi smiled as he shifted on the ottoman, stretching out so his foot was resting against Hongjoong's.

The older turned slightly pink as he cleared his throat. "I agree. And like I said before, all I ask is that you follow the requests I made earlier. We need to become a functioning team, and that starts here. In our home."

Mingi's eyes lit up at the words as he sat up straighter.

Yunho watched as the others all had small smiles cross their face as well, himself included as he watched them.

Even though they had all committed horrible crimes and done awful things... They were still humans. He knew that, deep down, he just needed to continue to work on accepting it. And it wasn't that he hadn't yet, but it was still hard to think of them as something other than criminals because that's what he had been trained to look at them as.

Living here was going to be good for him too, Yunho realized as he looked at each one of them.

Jongho stood to check on Wooyoung's ankle, the older grimacing as Jongho but light pressure on it while Seonghwa watched over them.

Yeosang was showing Hongjoong something on the tablet in his hand and Mingi was watching as well.

The air had shifted in the living room as everyone started to get excited about the prospect of have a normal life again. As close to normal as it could be.

He glanced down at where San was watching everyone, a nervous look still on his face.

Yunho sipped his coffee and looked out at the others as well, his eyes falling on Hongjoong. The older was looking at Yeosang intensely as they kept talking. It was the look he got whenever he was really interested in what was going on and wanted to absorb all the information he could.

He sighed and closed his eyes.

Then he felt San place his head on his shoulder and he looked down at the younger, his heartbeat speeding up a little.

"Why don't we go check out the gym?" He asked, shifting so San had to sit up again. But he nodded in agreement and Yunho turned to Jongho. "Hey Jongho, when you're done there, do you want to come with us? I wanted to show San the gym and get him started on some training."

"Sure! One second." He turned back to Wooyoung and finished wrapping his ankle. Then he turned around and crouched down so Wooyoung could scoot around and climb onto his back. "Wooyoung is going to come watch." He smiled as he hoisted the boy higher onto his back.

Wooyoung hissed, but then looked up at Yunho. "Is that ok? I really don't want to be stuck on the couch or in bed anymore."

"Of course. You can do whatever you want." Yunho smiled, then looked around. "This is your home now. You shouldn't feel trapped in your own home."


	18. Chapter 18

Hongjoong chewed on his bottom lip as he went over the list one more time. He had volunteered to do the first official grocery run for the house and had taken down the requests from everyone for the kind of food they wanted.

After confirming everything was on there, he grabbed his keys and his wallet and made his way to the front door.

Then he paused when he saw Mingi leaning causally against the wall next to the door. "Where do you think you're going?" The taller said with a slight smirk.

Hongjoong just held up the list as his mouth opened a little bit, although no words came out.

Mingi chuckled and pushed off the wall to open the door. "Let's go then."

"But..."

"But nothing. You said we weren't to go out by ourselves. I figured that goes for you too." Mingi winked at him and motioned for Hongjoong to continue.

The older felt his cheeks heat up as he focused on the view directly in front of him and hurried out the door.

Damn him... He always knew what to do to get Hongjoong a little flustered, and the older didn't know what to do about it.

Nothing had really happened between the two of them since their last conversation when he had confessed that he didn't know how to date. Mingi had seemed understanding, and truthfully, they really hadn't had a chance to do anything since Wooyoung got hurt and they moved into their new building.

Hongjoong could feel Mingi fall into step behind him and did his best to keep a straight face will walking to his car.

"Nice ride." Mingi said, and the older glanced over to see a look of awe on Mingi's face.

"Thanks, I restored it myself with the help of Yunho." Hongjoong stepped inside and smiled as Mingi took in the interior. The car itself was an old car from a few decades ago, but with a lot of time and love, the inside had been restored to support all the modern technology most cars had.

He loved this car so much.

They drove in silence to the nearest store and awkwardly made their way up and down the isles grabbing random items off their list.

Hongjoong bit the inside of his lip as Mingi's shoulder brushed against him while reaching for the top shelf to get some oil. He must have also made a sound because Mingi turned to him and gave a soft smile. "So." The taller looked around.

They were alone in the isle.

"So." Hongjoong copied, fidgeting a little bit.

Mingi set the oil down in their cart then lifted a hand up to brush Hongjoong's cheek gently. "You're cute when you get flustered." He said softly.

Hongjoong felt himself turn red as he glanced at the floor. "I can't help it. You make me nervous." He added quietly.

The taller smiled and took a step back. "Our fearless leader, nervous." He chuckled.

"I never said I was fearless." Hongjoong glanced up at Mingi and felt his heart beat faster at the smile there.

"I know." Mingi turned back to the list and started to read over it.

Then, as they started walking, he took Hongjoong's hand in his, lacing their fingers together as he pushed the cart.

This was... nice.

Neither one felt the need to say anything about it, but Hongjoong could tell Mingi was happy that he hadn't pulled away.

He didn't want to either.

Hongjoong had been doing a lot of thinking, and yes, he had a job to do. He wanted to rid the world from the mafia and gang bosses that had taken over. A lot of people wanted that.

But that didn't stop those people from embracing other parts of their lives. They still got married, had kids, traveled. They tried to live.

So he had decided to try it too, even though he had no idea what he was doing. The last person to show him any affection, besides his friendship with Yunho, was his father.

It was time for something new.

So Hongjoong let Mingi gently pull him through the store as they finished shopping. Even as they paid, they never broke contact.

It was a peaceful feeling for Hongjoong. And he was proud of himself. He had decided to take a risk, and it looked like it might pay off.

They loaded the groceries into the back of his car and just as Hongjoong went to take the cart back, Mingi grabbed him and pulled him into a hug.

Hongjoong brought his hands up and hugged him back, smiling into the taller's chest. "If we didn't have groceries I'd say we should stay out a little longer."

"We have plenty of time for that. We will take it slow, for your sake." Mingi whispered into the top of his head. "So let's get back and feed the kids." He chuckled and Hongjoong thought he felt him kiss him through his hair.

"Yeah, Yunho probably needs some more coffee." He said with a smile as he hopped into the driver seat. "Maybe that will cheer him up a bit."

"Yeah he did seem a little... moody today. Is everything ok?" Mingi glanced over at him.

Hongjoong had been wondering the same thing. Yunho had been scowling a little more than normal during the meeting, at least before he had gone into the kitchen. It hadn't seemed like a caffeine deprived scowl... But maybe he just read it wrong.

"I guess we will see. He can be grumpy when he hasn't had enough coffee. I keep trying to come up with ways to help him quit, but he refuses to try. It's a comfort to him, so getting him to give it up is easier said than done."

Mingi hummed and glanced out the window. Then he sat up a little straighter and glanced at the rearview mirror.

"I know, I saw it too." Hongjoong said, clenching the steering wheel. A car had been following them for a couple of blocks now.

"Do you recognize it?" Mingi asked, sitting back in his seat so he looked casual again.

"No." Hongjoong ran a finger over his bracelet to pull up the calling system. "Yeosang."

"What is it Boss?" The younger answered quickly. Hongjoong rolled his eyes at the title.

"I need you to send a drone out. I think Mingi and I have a tail."

"On it." The line was silent for a few minutes. "Tracking your bracelet now to get your location... Sending out drone."

Hongjoong had to hand it to him, the kid was quick.

"Alright, I've got you in my sight. Running diagnostic on the car now."

"Are you ok Hongjoong?" Yunho's voice came through.

"For now. Be ready though, we might need a 'Side-Swipe'."

Hongjoong could practically feel Yunho beaming through the phone as he ran to his car. If things came to it, the taller could be counted on to provide a good distraction to get Hongjoong away from the tail.

He made a random left turn down a side street, his eyes flicking to the car in his rearview mirror as it also made the turn.

Another right, then left turn confirmed to him that this person was following him.

"The plates aren't in any of our systems, so they are fake." Yeosang said. "Sending the nearest the officer the information now."

"Good job, Yeosang. Let's see if that scares them off." Mingi smiled at Hongjoong, but the oldest wasn't ready to celebrate just yet. There was no way he was driving home with this person behind him. And whoever it was, they were persistent.

They had to know that Hongjoong knew about them by now. So either they were oblivious and didn't know it, or they were trying to do something else.

"Car 221 is on its way."

"Is there any way you can see who's driving, Yeosang? If we can get a face and run it that might help." Hongjoong asked, taking another right and an immediate left.

"One step ahead of you. There are two people in the car, both armed. The car itself seems to be enhanced. According to my scans... it's bulletproof, even the windows. I'm trying to get an angle where I can see the face, but the windows are tinted so it's making it hard."

Hongjoong didn't like this. His instincts told him to flee, but there was no way to do that without possibly hurting a civilian. Not right now at least.

Either this person had recognized Mingi and were out for revenge because he stole from them... Or they were after Hongjoong because he was the new Chief of Police and had been doing a much better job than the previous chief.

"Yunho, head out. Aim for 'Side-Swipe' on 51st and Trial." Hongjoong ordered.

"Got it." The younger responded quickly.

"What's 'Side-Swipe'?" Mingi asked.

Hongjoong smirked as he made a sharp turn to go to the intersection he had indicated. "Yunho is the best damn driver you'll ever meet. If you need a quick getaway, he's your man. He is a gutsy fool who isn't afraid of anything when he's driving. 'Side-Swipe' is something we came up with to help a fellow officer ditch a tail like we have now. You'll see."

As the intersection got closer, Hongjoong glanced down a street that gave him a view of 50th. He saw Yunho zip by so he stepped on the gas.

"Hold on." He warned Mingi as the car picked up speed.

The one behind him did as well, weaving in and out of traffic just as easily as Hongjoong did.

A few cars honked at them, but Hongjoong's only focus was the light in front of him. He pressed a button in his car to keep the light green in his direction and floored the gas pedal.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw a flash of metal, indicating that Yunho had driven into the wrong lane, preparing to run the red light and cut off traffic.

There was the perfect gap.

"You're kidding, right?!" Mingi almost yelled as he pressed himself into his seat.

Hongjoong was able to get a couple of cars behind him as he sped through the light.

Right as Yunho whipped behind him, causing several cars to slam on their breaks and swerve to the side.

And trapping the car in question amongst the chaos.

"Fuck!" Mingi gasped, placing a hand over his heart as he breathed heavily. "You guys are insane!"

Hongjoong laughed. "You kind of have to be to be a cop in this city. Yunho, are you ok?"

"Oh I'm great! Can we do that again?"

The older chuckled and kept driving, still making a few detours before driving back to the house.

Yunho had beat him there and was waiting in the garage, leaning against his car with his arms crossed, one leg bent, and a wide smile on his face.

The door opened and San poked his head out, smiling once he saw Yunho was back. He hurried to the taller's side, and Hongjoong heard him asking if Yunho was ok as he stepped out of his own car.

"I think that question would be better for Mingi." Yunho said as he walked around his navy blue sports car and looked Mingi up and down.

The thief was bracing himself against the side of Hongjoong's car, knees shaking slightly.

"Yup. I'm totally fine right now. Just saw my life flash before my eyes... Several times." Mingi said, eyes wide as he stared at Hongjoong's car. Then he lifted his hands up and backed away from it as if just now realized he could have died in there.

Yunho laughed and rolled his eyes. "Don't be such a baby. That was amazing!" He bounced on the balls of his feet as Hongjoong walked over to Mingi.

"Are you ok? I didn't mean to sca-" He was cut off as Mingi pulled him into a bone-breaking hug, but seemed to relax almost instantly once Hongjoong hugged him back.

"I'm better now."

Hongjoong felt himself blush a little and let the hug last a few seconds longer before he stepped away.

San and Yunho had already taken a load of groceries inside, so hopefully they didn't see any of that, but Hongjoong had a feeling they probably did.

He huffed and grabbed a couple more bags and walked inside.

The four of them worked to put everything away, with an unexpected break as Yunho cheered when he saw the several bags of coffee Hongjoong had bought him.

He stooped down and lifted Hongjoong off the ground and spun in a circle, making the four of them laugh.

The noise was enough to draw Seonghwa and Jongho into the room and the six of them chatted happily until Yeosang came in with a stern look on his face.

"They got away." He said, looked at Hongjoong.

"Damn..." The chief said, slamming his hand against the table.

"I tried to get a good view of them, but it was almost like they knew I was there. They jumped out of the car and kept their heads down as they ran into the crowd and fought their way through. And then it was like they vanished. I have no idea where they went..." Yeosang said, looking down.

Hongjoong walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't blame yourself. You helped a lot today, thank you."

The younger looked up and puffed out his chest a little in pride.

"Where's Wooyoung?" Seonghwa asked, looking around.

"Sleeping in my bed." Yeosang chuckled. "Jongho dropped him off earlier and he was out in almost an instant. He was supposed to be keeping me company."

Seonghwa gave a soft smile as he pulled a bottle of medicine out of the cabinet and left the room.

San and Yunho also walked out, following Jongho to the training room, and Yeosang left to go back to his office, leaving Mingi and Hongjoong alone again.

Their fingers laced together as if by instinct as they both worked to finish putting away the remaining groceries.


	19. Chapter 19

"Seonghwa! Wait up!"

The oldest turned around to see Yeosang jogging to catch up with him.

"Are you going to check on Wooyoung?"

"Yeah, it's time for more pain medication, that's why I wanted to know where he was." Seonghwa said, staring down at the bottle in his hand.

"I think he gets a little lonely. Which is odd, because it seems like he doesn't like contact either." Yeosang said, sighing as he fell into step next to Seonghwa.

"Well, think about where he came from. I've been watching him and I think that's one of the challenges he will need to overcome." Seonghwa said quietly as images of Wooyoung's face flashed in his mind. He stopped walking and kept his eyes on the floor. "I think he desires love, but fears contact."

Yeosang hummed and looked down the hall. "I could see that. If he wasn't shown any kind of affection for that long..."

"It's not easy." Seonghwa said, thinking back to his life growing up. It wasn't easy at all. "Plus he never got the chance to have a childhood, or interact with others in a normal setting. I fear there is a lot he needs to learn about being with others."

"And that's where you come in?" Yeosang asked, a slight smirk crossing his face.

"That's where WE come in." Seonghwa started walking again, ignoring the hidden meaning Yeosang was trying to imply, which wasn't true. "He's going to need all of us to help show him what it means to be a part of a te-"

He was cut off when they heard screaming coming from Yeosang's room.

The pair ran forward and threw the door open. A quick scan showed the room was empty accept for Wooyoung, who was cowering in the far corner and pointing his knife in their direction. His eyes were wide with fear.

"Get back! I don't want anymore!" The younger shouted with a strangled voice.

"Wooyoung it's just us. Seonghwa and Yeosang." The hacker said, stepping forward.

Seonghwa stopped him by holding his hand out. "Don't move too quickly. I think he's still in his nightmare." He said quietly, watching as Wooyoung's eyes flicked back and forth like he didn't have control over them.

Wooyoung tried to press himself into the wall while keeping the knife held up in a shaking hand.

"Wooyoung." Seonghwa said gently, crouching down and motioning for Yeosang to do the same. "Wooyoung, listen to my voice. It's Seonghwa."

The younger's eyes flicked to him for a second, then looked up a little and he screamed again.

He was seeing things that weren't there.

Seonghwa slowly lifted up his arm and ran his hand over his bracelet. The digital interface opened up and Seonghwa pressed the combination needed to page Hongjoong.

"What is it?" His leader answered quickly.

"Come to Yeosang's area quickly, but stay quiet. Wooyoung needs us and I don't want to startle him."

"What's going o-" Hongjoong was cut off when Wooyoung screamed again and slashed at the air. "What the hell was that?"

"You'll see when you get here, hurry. And crouch when you get in the room."

"What are we going to do?" Yeosang asked, his voice shaking a little. "Are you going to have Hongjoong sedate him?"

Seonghwa ran through all his training and shook his head. "No. If Hongjoong sedates him that will keep him trapped in the nightmare and this could happen again. We need to try and snap him out of it. But it needs to be gentle." He glanced at the hacker. "I'm going to try and move forward, fill Hongjoong in when he gets here."

Yeosang nodded and took a couple steps back.

Carefully moving forward, Seonghwa stayed crouched to the ground, using his hands for balance when needed by leaning on them on the cement floor. He barely blinked as he watched Wooyoung continue to swing at his invisible attacker.

"Wooyoung, can you hear me?" He asked softly.

"Stay back! I kn-know how to use this!" Wooyoung cried out, pointing the knife at Seonghwa. His eyes grew a little wider if possible, then narrowed as he looked to the right and started shaking again.

So he was in there and could recognize a few things.

"P-Please... I can't t-take anymore..." He whimpered.

"Wooyoung focus on me. Focus on my voice." Seonghwa moved forward about a foot.

A beam of light crossed the floor, indicating Hongjoong had shown up, but Seonghwa refused to look away from the boy in front of him.

"What you're seeing isn't real, Wooyoung. You're in a dream. You need to wake up now."

The younger's eyes flicked to his again. "S-S-eong..." Wooyoung cut himself off as he fell onto his side and started to shake and jerk, almost like he was being attacked. He screamed for real when his ankle slammed into the ground.

Seonghwa took this opportunity to run forward and pull Wooyoung into his arms. He ripped the knife from his hands and threw it in the direction of the door and held onto the boy. "Ssshhh, Wooyoung it's just a dream. Wake up Wooyoung, you're safe now." He said, rocking the boy back and forth and running a hand through his hair.

He could feel Wooyoung lean into the touch, like he always did, so he continued that, while gently running his fingers over Wooyoung's arms, hands, and neck. Anywhere he could touch skin.

Slowly, Wooyoung's shaking stopped, along with his whimpering.

"That's it. You're ok. You're safe." Seonghwa whispered. "You can wake up now."

He watched as Wooyoung blinked several times, like he was blinking the dream away, and his pupils slowly came back into focus.

"Wha... Where am I?" He asked, sitting up and looking around. His breathing got faster almost instantly, so Seonghwa placed a hand on his shoulder to pull his attention.

"Safe. Take a deep breath. You're in Yeosang's room, do you remember coming here?" Seonghwa asked slowly, studying Wooyoung's face.

"Yeosang's... Yeah, I think so. Jongho brought me, right? I wanted to see what Yeosang does..." Wooyoung's forehead creased in concern. "What happened?" He tried to rotate and cried out in pain when his ankle moved.

Seonghwa was quick to stand and lift Wooyoung off the floor and carry him to Yeosang's bed. He noticed Yeosang, Hongjoong, and Mingi all waiting by the door. "You hit your ankle pretty hard, let me take a look at it." He knelt down and rolled up Wooyoung's pant leg and gently rubbed his fingers over the bound ankle. "It's probably going to swell up some more, so we can go get some ice for it. But it's a good thing it was time to take these anyway." Seonghwa grabbed the bottle of pain pills and dumped three into Wooyoung's waiting hand.

"Thanks." The younger mumbled before dry swallowing them.

"What do you remember?"

Wooyoung looked at him from under his eyelashes, tears coming to his eyes. "N-Nothing... I barely remember coming here."

Seonghwa reached up to cup his cheek. "Deep breath. You were trapped in a nightmare. I've seen it happen before. It's kind of like you were sleep walking or hallucinating. The nightmare was so real for you that you were living it."

Wooyoung's mouth opened a little and he looked down at his shaking hands. "I was back in... In... In that place." He said, his voice low and monotone. "Someone had p-paid for an-nother hour... He w-was a regular who l-l-liked..." The tears came full force now and Seonghwa jumped up to sit next to him on the bed.

The younger fell forward and cried into his lap while fisting his shirt with one hand.

Hongjoong took a couple of steps forward, but didn't say anything. He met Seonghwa's gaze and tilted his head in a way that Seonghwa knew he was asking if he could do anything.

So he shook his head slowly as he gently placed a hand on Wooyoung's back. "Come one, Woo. Let's get you back to your room, ok?"

Wooyoung sniffled and nodded before holding his arms out.

Seonghwa's breath caught in his throat at the small pout that had formed on Wooyoung's face. It just went to show how scared he was right now, but Seonghwa couldn't help but think it was cute.

He easily lifted Wooyoung off the bed and held him close to his chest.

Wooyoung tucked his arms in, but he did end up grabbing onto Seonghwa's shirt again as he closed his eyes and tried to calm down.

Mingi grabbed the door and the three of them stood off to the side as Seonghwa passed by. "Can one of you get me some ice, please? And something warm for him to drink." He asked softly.

"No problem." Hongjoong said quickly. "I'll bring it by shortly."

"Thanks." Seonghwa nodded his head and walked down the hall to where Wooyoung's room was.

.

.

.

.

He remembered everything. The tall man coming into the room, hovering over him. Sneering at him... Laughing... Restraining him...

Wooyoung whimpered and pressed his face further into Seonghwa's chest. He was glad the older was the one who found him.

Part of him doubted that anyone else would have been able to wake him up.

And if he was being honest, he didn't want anyone else to...

It was like he had taken the time to understand what Wooyoung was going through and wanted to help him.

He felt like Seonghwa cared about him.

And that's all he had ever wanted. Ever since he was taken. Sure he had been praised, told he was a good boy or a good pet, and that always made him feel good. But it was a twisted meaning... It had warped his mind to crave that kind of praise.

He knew that... And he knew he would probably still react differently if anyone ever said those things to him again.

Seonghwa shifted him a little bit so he could open the door to Wooyoung's room and step inside. 

The walls were empty. No decorations, no pictures, just a dull shade of cream paint. Same with the bed. The comforter was grey, along with the sheets.

That's all Wooyoung had asked for... He didn't know what he would even use to decorate a room anyway. It's not like he had anything to call his own...

Seonghwa took him to the bed and went to set him down, but Wooyoung wrapped an arm around him, so Seonghwa sat and worked his way backward so he could lean against the wall.

Wooyoung grabbed his pillow and placed it behind the older's back to help him stay comfortable.

He was glad that the older went with it because Wooyoung liked this feeling. Closing his eyes, he rested his head against Seonghwa's shoulder.

"Are you ok?" Seonghwa asked, rubbing his hand through Wooyoung's hair.

"I am now." He whispered. "Thank you, for helping me."

"It's not that big of a deal."

Yes it was... It was to Wooyoung.

He shifted so he could wrap his arms around Seonghwa's waist and hold onto him. "Will you stay with me for a bit? Just in case it happens again?"

"Yeah, I can stay."

Wooyoung hummed and let the feeling of Seonghwa's hand running through his hair take over. As weird as it was for him, this is one of the comforts he was used to receiving.

When he did something good, who ever owned him for the hour, day, week, however long he had been bought for, they used to tell him he was a good boy and pet the side of his head.

And now having Seonghwa do it just added to the pleasure he got. He was so gentle, so kind...

Wooyoung felt his heart beat a little faster when he heard Seonghwa's deep voice talking to someone, although he couldn't register what was being said. He barely noticed the feeling of the icepack being placed on his ankle.

All he felt was Seonghwa.

.

.

.

.

"Thanks Hongjoong." Seonghwa said softly after placing the icepack on Wooyoung's swollen ankle. He had definitely extended his healing time...

"How is he doing?" The younger asked, pulling out the chair from Wooyoung's desk and sitting so he could face the bed.

Seonghwa looked down and felt a small smile cross his face. Wooyoung had his nose buried in the folds of Seonghwa's shirt, pressed to his chest, and was curled up in a ball while holding onto him. "I think he is a little better."

"What do you think caused it?"

"I'm sure it was something from his past. There was one point where he said he didn't want anymore. And he looked scared. I wouldn't be surprised if he has a lot of dreams like this, but he was in a strange place so that probably didn't help with his senses." Seonghwa glanced up and saw Hongjoong pushing his lips out as he thought and rubbed his eyebrow.

"Can it be fixed?" Hongjoong's eyes flicked to Wooyoung.

"I wouldn't say that 'fixed' is the right word, but for lack of a better term, I think it can be made better. We just need to help him accept his past, and show him that he is worthy of being loved." Seonghwa looked down at Wooyoung again. "I think that's all anyone wants. It to know that they are capable of being loved."

That's all he had ever wanted too... But his father... Wasn't the loving type.

"I think we all need that." Hongjoong crossed his arms and chuckled nervously. "This is quite the team I managed to put together, isn't it?"

"You sure did pick a bunch of broken souls, that's for sure." Seonghwa tried to give him a genuine smile as he continued to play with Wooyoung's hair. "Do you believe in destiny?" He asked softly.

Hongjoong hummed. "I don't know. I have a hard time believing it was destiny that my dad was supposed to die in the line of duty and not stick around to watch me continue to grow in life. But... I think part of me believes that everything happens for a reason."

"I do too. Maybe there was a reason you were drawn to our files. Maybe it's your destiny to help 'fix' us as much as you want us to help you fix this town."


	20. Chapter 20

San took a deep breath as he rolled his neck and circled the ring opposite of Jongho.

"You're light on your feet, that's good." The younger praised, nodding his head while lifting his fists up to cover his face.

"Why is that good?" San asked, mimicking Jongho's movements. His eyes flashed to where Yunho was watching from the corner of the room while nursing his coffee. He didn't know why, but he really wanted to do well and impress him.

He wanted to show that he could fight his demons and belong here. He had slowly been improving over the last month, and he planned on getting even better.

"Because it means you will be quicker than the heavier guys out there. While they may stronger, if you can be faster then you can win, or at least gain an advantage. But you have to be prepared for anything." Jongho said, then he took San by surprise by throwing a couple of punches.

The older ducked under them easily, as if it was an instinct, and stuck an arm out straight. Jongho stumbled into it and fell to the ground, clutching his stomach, but laughing.

"That was good! See? You were faster than me so you could catch me mid swing when I was off balance." Jongho smiled as he took San's offered hand.

"Where did you learn to fight like this?" San asked, as they started to circle each other again. "You're really good at teaching."

Jongho gave him a shy smile and lowered his hands, glancing at Yunho before biting his lip. "I was bullied a lot as a kid. I was behind the curve, size wise, so I was smaller than my classmates. I really didn't start growing until high school, and once that hit I had a huge growth spurt. But by then it was already too late. My parents were never really around, so I didn't have anyone to turn to." Jongho rubbed the back of his neck.

San tilted his head, curious as to where this would go. He was slowly finding out that everyone had a broken past like he did. But at least they could remember theirs...

The door opened and Yeosang came walking in, heading straight for Yunho.

Jongho didn't seem to notice as he continued. "So I started teaching myself how to fight. I would read all the books in the library and do my research, then practice in secret. It was a good way for me to get my anger out too. I didn't want to be the person who turned to violence, so it started as a form of self protection."

The younger turned to glance at Yunho again, then paused when he saw Yeosang standing there watching him. He let out a harsh sigh.

"I ended up taking it a bit to far one time when I was cornered by one of my bullies..." Jongho turned his head away so he didn't have to look at anyone. "I killed him with a brick..."

San covered his mouth and fought the urge to take a step back.

"It was an accident. Sort of. I tried to use it to get the guy off me, but then when I realized I had the upper hand, I... I couldn't stop. I was seventeen at the time, so I was tried as a juvenile delinquent, but the case got dismissed as self defense. It doesn't stop me from feeling guilty ever day though."

San flinched when he felt a tug at the back of his mind. Not now. He was doing so good. He would not give in now.

"I didn't want anyone else to have to feel my pain, so I started a school for self defense. It was small at first, but word got around and more and more people came. Things may have taken a turn to the illegal side," Jongho blushed and turned to Yunho, who was just staring at him with an amused half smile. "But I swear it started out as a way to try and get more money for my gym. And I would coach the fighters before and after the match."

Yunho chuckled and came forward. "I don't know why you are trying to defend yourself to me. All has been forgiven, remember?" the taller ducked into the ring and placed a hand on Jongho's shoulder.

The younger stood a little straighter. "Thank you."

Yunho just waved him off and walked by San to ruffle his hair before heading to the door.

San felt his heart leap out of his chest as a bright smile crossed his face at the contact. Then he was left feeling slightly empty as Yunho exited the room.

He watched the taller go, wanting to follow him.

_Don't be pathetic. You're acting like his dog._

"No I'm not..." San hissed, turning his back to Jongho and shaking his head. "Get out of my head. I don't want you anymore!"

_But you want him. What can he give you that we can't?_

"Everything." San said, scrunching his eyes and focusing his mind. He pictured locking the voices away in a room.

They started to laugh. _Don't be a fool, San. We love you. You need us._

"No, I don't." San pushed the shadows in his mind behind the door and envisioned a key locking it.

Then he waited.

And waited.

"San?" Jongho asked from behind him. "Are... You ok?"

The older lifted his head up and turned to look at Jongho with a smile. "I did it!" He cried out then ran for the door, leaving Jongho to stare after him with a confused look on his face.

"Yunho!" San shouted, looking up and down the halls as he passed them. "Yunho!"

"San? What is it? What's wrong?" The taller asked, running down a side hallway with a panicked look on his face.

"I did it!" The younger shouted. When they were close enough, he jumped to close the distance between them.

Thankfully Yunho thought quickly and caught San as their bodies collided together and San buried his face into the taller's neck.

They stumbled back and Yunho was pressed into the wall as he looked down at San. "You did what?"

San looked up at him, smiling wide as he hopped up and down in place. "I locked them away! They came out while Jongho was telling his story... But I fought against it and envisioned locking them away, just like you told me to."

He felt himself growing even more excited as he took in the proud look on Yunho's face. "That's great! I know it's going to take some practice, but this is a good first step! I'm so proud of you."

At those words, San held onto Yunho tight and smiled against his chest. "Thank you for taking a chance on me. I know I'm the last person to deserve it, and I've done horrible things that I can't even remember... But thank you. I promise I'll do everything I can to make it worth it."

He felt Yunho relax into the was as he brought a hand up to cup the back of his head. When he spoke, his voice seemed a little hesitant, but it was kind and gentle at the same time. "You don't need to thank me, San. I'm just glad I could do something to help this time."

The younger wanted to ask what he meant by this, but he also didn't want to ruin this moment. His heart was pounding as he shifted forward to get a little more contact.

This time Yunho tensed a little, but he didn't move, which was enough to start with as San hugged him. He could feel the older shifting his fingers slightly as he rubbed the back of San's head.

"Thank you." He whispered again.

He felt so light and free right now. He wanted this to last and make the others proud of him too.

.

.

.

.

As Yunho stood there, braced against the wall, he couldn't get his thoughts straight in his head.

When San had been yelling for him, his panic mode had turned on and thought something had gone wrong. That maybe San had snapped and done something to Jongho.

He wasn't prepared for San to come barreling into him and tell him that he was getting better.

It warmed his heart so much to see the younger happy, but it also confused him too.

Deep down, he didn't want to get attached. For multiple reasons. The main one being he still had some feelings for someone else, but those were slowly going away thankfully.

Maybe that was partially to do with San? Could he be the one helping?

But Yunho didn't want that to be the case... Because he was too afraid of getting hurt again.

So after standing there for a few minutes, he pushed himself off the wall and patted San's head. "You should get back to Jongho and keep practicing. I have a few things I need to do." He said, forcing a smile.

San just beamed and said, "Ok!" Before spinning around and running back to the gym.

Yunho shoved aside the empty feeling creeping its way in as he watched San disappear.

Sighing, he turned around and walked to the main office, hoping to find Hongjoong. He wasn't there... Yunho sighed again and was about to page him through the bracelet when he looked at the calendar.

The ground seemed to vanish below him as he tried to take in the date he was looking at.

"No..." He covered his mouth as his heart started to beat irregularly. Had he really been that busy that he missed it?

Without another thought, he ran to the garage and grabbed the keys to his blue sports car. As the engine roared to life, he opened the garage door and backed out, his tires squealing.

"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..." He said over and over, trying to fight back the tears as he wove in and out of traffic. He even cheated the system and used the device he had to change lights so he could make better time.

"I'm sorry..."

.

.

.

.

"Have either of you seen Yunho recently?" Hongjoong asked, poking his head into the gym. He smiled when he saw San and Jongho drop their fists, both covered in sweat, and turn to them.

"He was here a few hours ago." Jongho said.

"He said he had a few things he needed to take care of." San added with a smile.

Hongjoong pursed his lips. "He's not answering his bracelet. I'll have Yeosang check where he is."

At those words, San's eyes widened and he slipped out of the ring. "Yunho's gone?"

"I'm sure he's fine." Hongjoong turned to head to the hacker's room, and chuckled when San fell into step beside him. "You can keep training San. I'm sure everything is fine." But the younger just shook his head and kept following him.

"Really? You're just going to leave me?" Jongho called out from the gym.

"Yes!" San yelled back, a small giggle followed it.

Hongjoong felt his eyebrows raise in surprise. San was really improving. Whatever Yunho was doing to help him must be working. He couldn't remember ever hearing San laugh before.

But he couldn't focus on that. There was something nagging at him, and he couldn't figure out what it was. That's why he wanted Yunho. He was always good with dates and appointments and such. So why wasn't he answering?

When they got to Yeosang's room, he was laying on his bed reading a book, but he sat up and quickly closed it.

"Yeosang, can you tell me where Yunho is? He's not answering me when I call him." Hongjoong said, trying to not sound worried for San's sake, especially when he saw the younger wringing his wrists.

"Sure thing." Yeosang jumped up and hurried to his computer. After a few quick strokes of the keys, his forehead furrowed and he turned his head toward Hongjoong while keeping his eyes on the screen. "It says he's here. In the garage..."

Hongjoong rubbed his head for a second, then his eyes fell on the date on Yeosang's screen. "Is that accurate?" He asked, leaning forward suddenly and making both San and Yeosang jump.

"Of course, why?"

"Fuck. I messed up big time." Hongjoong said before sprinting from the room.

He went straight to the garage and the first thing he saw was Yunho's car missing. The next was his bracelet sitting on the table by the door...


	21. Chapter 21

"Hongjoong? What's going on?"

The older turned around to see Mingi walking into the garage with a worried look on his face.

"I need you to stay here and watch over things." Hongjoong said, trying to catch his breath as he grabbed his keys and ran to his car. "San, stay here with them."

The younger ignored him and jumped in the car. Hongjoong didn't feel like arguing. He gave Mingi one last glance before pulling out of the garage, his tires screeching as he slammed on the gas pedal.

How could he be so oblivious? He had just been so busy getting the house set up and still trying to run the precinct... But that wasn't any excuse for forgetting today...

Although he had a horribly sinking suspicion that it might have slipped Yunho's mind too, and that's why he suddenly disappeared.

"Hongjoong, where did he go?" San asked, glancing over at him.

He just shook his head in response. If San didn't know, maybe Yunho didn't want him to know right now. He needed to focus on driving anyway.

Hongjoong wove in and out of traffic and took any shortcut that he knew. He didn't want Yunho to be alone for too long...

San sucked in a breath when he realized where they were going. "Hongjoong..." He whispered.

"You're the one who decided to come, so you don't get to say anything." The older snapped as he slammed on the breaks to park and jumped up of the car as fast as he could.

He could sense San following close behind him as he wove through the winding dirt paths, knowing exactly where he needed to go.

When he reached the last turn, he slowed to a stop, his heart breaking at the sight in front of him.

Yunho was on his knees, looking so small and broken with his head bowed and one hand on the top of his sister's grave.

.

.

.

.

He didn't know what to say. When he had arrived, the only thing he could do was fall to his knees and beg for forgiveness.

He had forgotten the anniversary of his sister's murder...

Yunho had promised her that he would come and visit her every year on this date, so that way there would be at least one day he would talk to her in person.

"I'm so sorry Yuri." He whispered, reaching out to run his fingers over her name. "Please forgive me." He choked, closing his eyes as the tears came. "I... I didn't meant to forget. I'm so sorry."

Yunho bent forward as the heartache took over.

It wasn't fair. She didn't deserve to die so young. He should have been there to protect her. He should have been there...

As the waves of regret came at full force, Yunho wrapped his arms around his stomach and doubled over and embraced the hole in his heart, feeling that he deserved it.

A familiar hand gently squeezed his shoulder and Yunho didn't need to look up to know who it was. He knew Hongjoong would find him once he realized what day it was too.

But that didn't stop him from wanting to just disappear and be alone... So he didn't acknowledge the older's presence. He just let the tears continue as images of his sister flashed in his mind.

Her laugh.

Her smile.

The way he used to look up to her, because she was the coolest big sister in the world.

On her good days, when he was still young, she would take him to the mall and buy him ice cream at 10 o'clock in the morning, just to piss their parents off. Mostly because Yunho would be high on sugar for the rest of the day.

It was their little tradition.

Hongjoong's hand rubbed his back slowly. "Hey Yuri. Sorry we're late." He said softly.

Yunho started to shake at the pain that filled his heart at Hongjoong's kind tone. It was like thousands of needles were being slowly pushed into him. All he wanted was for the pain to stop.

It's been three years. It shouldn't hurt this much... Right?

He should be over it by now...

"It's ok." Hongjoong whispered. As always, he knew exactly what Yunho was thinking. "You're never going to stop missing her. It's never going to stop hurting. But the pain will get better."

Yunho turned and wrapped his arms around his friend, crying openly into his stomach as the older gently rubbed his head.

He didn't know how long they stayed like that, but it felt so nice...

.

.

.

.

San watched nervously as Hongjoong comforted Yunho. He wanted to go over there too, but he felt like he was interrupting something.

Maybe he shouldn't have come.

Hongjoong had told him to stay behind...

But when Yunho didn't stop crying after several long minutes, he couldn't wait anymore. The older had been such a comfort to him, he wanted to return the favor.

So he stepped forward and slowly lowered himself to his knees next to Yunho and placed a hand on his back.

He felt the older jump and he lifted his head up from Hongjoong's stomach to turn and look at him. He was shocked at first, but then something unreadable crossed his face as he covered his mouth and closed his eyes. "San..."

Yunho turned to bring San into his arms and hugged him tight.

The younger found himself smiling as he nuzzled into Yunho's chest, not caring that if he was hugged any harder he would probably stop breathing.

"I'm sorry if I scared you." The older whispered into his ear.

San just shook his head and pulled back a little. He lifted a hand up and brushed his thumb over Yunho's cheek. "Are you ok?"

Yunho seemed to flinch at his words, and this time San gripped his head and pulled it into his chest. The older wrapped his long arms around San and held him tight.

Hongjoong gave him and soft smile and sighed before standing up. He placed a hand on the grave in front of them before walking slowly back to the car.

Then San shivered as his eye lids fluttered.

_What and interesting turn of events._

He shook his head, not wanting to say anything out loud.

_He's weak. Finish him off San. Don't turn into his personal pet._

San clenched his jaw and started to picture the door again.

_You're already one if you think about it. The way he pats your head. They way he just left you behind. We would never do that, San._

"N-No..." he whimpered.

Yunho sat up and wiped his cheeks. "It's ok San, it's ok."

**_Finish him. Don't be a weakling!_ **

"I'm not weak!" San said, holding the back of his head and leaning forward. Why did this have to happen now of all times?

He pictured the shadows going behind the door.

Yunho lifted his hands up and cupped San's face. "Thank you for coming today." He whispered.

**_Don't fall for this. KILL HIM._ **

San whimpered and moved closer to Yunho. The older moved so he was sitting down and pulled San into his lap. "It's ok San. You can do this."

The younger closed his eyes and pushed the shadows back through the door. All he heard was screaming while he did so and he went to fist his hair.

But Yunho gently grabbed his chin and tilted his head up. "San just focus on me."

And he did. San opened his eyes and stared at Yunho's faded green ones. They were still puffy and red from crying, but the look of determination that crossed his face seemed to counteract that.

San's heart started to beat a little faster as he shoved the voices aside.

Yunho seemed to know the instant they were gone, because a gentle smile crossed his face. "San, there's someone I'd like you to meet." He whispered and motioned to the grave. San rotated in his lap and felt a blush creep into his cheeks as Yunho wrapped his arms around San's waist and rested his head on his shoulder. "Yuri, this is San. San, this is my sister, Yuri."

His sister? His sister was...

San placed this hands over Yunho's and tried to press himself closer to the older. "H-Hi Yuri. It's nice to meet you."

He felt Yunho tilt his head so it was resting against San's while they sat there. "Yuri is my older sister. She... She was murdered three years ago when someone broke into our house when I wasn't there."

The younger's heart stopped as concern for Yunho filled him. He tried to turn, but Yunho just hugged him harder.

"She was like you, Sannie." Yunho whispered.

San's mouth opened a little as he looked at Yuri's grave. "She... Heard..."

"Yes. I helped take care of her. I was out working with Hongjoong when it happened. She was very high functioning while on her medication, once we figured out what she needed to take. Isn't that right, Big Sis?"

So that's why Yunho was so good at this. He had experience. San hated himself for thinking it, but maybe that's all he was to Yunho... Maybe Yunho only saw him as his brother, because of the similarities with Yuri...

"I'm glad you got to meet him today, Yuri." Yunho whispered, making San glance at him out of the corner of his eye. "Because..." The older tightened his grip before turning his head to glance at the car Hongjoong was leaning against. "He's really helping me."

San pursed his lips and looked down. "Now we both know that's not true... You're the one who is helping me..." He said.

"Can I tell you a secret? One that only Yuri knew?"

"Ok?" San once again tried to turn to look at Yunho but he was locked in place.

"I've had feeling for Hongjoong for a long time now."

At those words, San felt his heart shatter. He didn't even really know why...

"But I always pushed them aside because he never showed interest in wanting a relationship and his friendship was more important. Yuri used to tease me all the time that I should just grow a pair and get over it." Yunho let out a soft chuckle, although San felt like crying. He hadn't realized he cared about Yunho in that way...

"But then I met you San." The older's voice got softer and San froze. "At first I wanted nothing to do with you, because of your past... But then I realized that you needed me. You needed someone to give you a chance. I thought I was the best person to give it to you because I helped Yuri."

"Yunho..."

Then San's breath was forced out of him when he felt Yunho's lips against his skin.

"I don't know what exactly I'm feeling yet, and it's going to take some time, but I think he'll be good for me. Don't you Sis?"

It was then that Yunho took one arm away from the hug and turned San's head so they could look at each other. "I've been avoiding the topic because I was afraid of getting attached. But you coming today, I'm sure against Hongjoong's orders, made me realize I shouldn't be afraid."

San bit his lip, not sure what to say. He had accepted a long time ago that no one would want him because of what he's done in the past, and yet here he was with Yunho...

"I'm going to try and be better, and more accepting. I know that's what Yuri always wanted for me, and I never thought," Yunho laughed and bit his lip. "God I must be crazy. But I feel like she sent you to me." He whispered before leaning forward and connecting their lips.

San's heart felt like it was going to leap out of his chest. There was no way this could be happening right now. Not to him. He was a monster... He was prone to killing people because of the voices... He...

He let out a small moan as a fire started to grow in the pit of his stomach.

Yunho pulled back and hugged San again, running his hands through his red and black hair. "Sorry, I don't know where that came from. But you... It's like you've turned into my light, Sannie. All I want to do is protect you from harm and keep you shining bright for the world to see."

"I want to be with you too, Yunho. I'm just afraid of being a burden or hurting you..." San said, looking down at the ground again.

That was the truth. If the voices found out about what had just happened, he knew he would be in so much trouble... But he knew he would fight with all his being to not harm Yunho. He was the only person who had been willing to give him a chance.

He was not going to ruin it now.

"You're not a burden, San. You'll never be a burden to me." Yunho whispered before kissing his forehead.

The pair of them sat there for a long time. At one point a car engine revved to life and they both looked to see Hongjoong driving away.

When that happened, Yunho buried his face in San's neck and squeezed him again before he started kissing there.

"Thank you, San. Thank you for setting me free."

The younger didn't have any words to say, because he knew he should be the one thanking Yunho for his life.


	22. Chapter 22

Mingi fiddled with the lock in his hand as he stared at the garage door, waiting for it to open and for either Yunho or Hongjoong to pull in.

He had tasked Yeosang with keeping an eye on them, and he came out at one point to let Mingi know that they had been at a large cemetery east of town.

Knowing the location didn't sit well with Mingi. He was worried for both of them because Hongjoong had seemed really distressed as well.

Plus the older had left with out explaining.

Mingi took a deep breath and tried to control the small monster that was threatening to come out. He knew Hongjoong and Yunho had been friends for ages, but Mingi couldn't help but feel a little jealous that Hongjoong was willing to drop everything to run after him like this... Especially after seeing the way Yunho would look at him sometimes.

But who was he kidding... It's not like he and Hongjoong had made anything official... Just a few stolen kisses here and there in the privacy of their rooms.

Maybe Hongjoong was trying to decide between the two of them?

Mingi didn't like the thought of that at all... But he would fight if he needed to.

His parents used to tell him stories about 'the one'. That there was one person who could turn your life upside down in unexpected ways. That's what his dad said his mom did to him.

Mingi didn't really believe in it.

Until Hongjoong.

He sighed and shook his head. Maybe he was just being a fool...

Just as he threw the lock down in frustration and was going to head inside, the garage door opened and Hongjoong's car rolled in.

The older looked tired but there was a small smile on his face. But no Yunho or San...

Mingi arched an eyebrow as Hongjoong stepped out of his car and shut the door while the garage door shut. "Hey, what are you doing?"

"Waiting for you." Mingi answered, trying to keep the scowl off his face that was threatening to come through.

"You didn't have to do that." Hongjoong froze, studying the taller.

"Is everything ok?"

The older sighed and ruffled his hair. "Yeah, I think it will be. I just needed to make sure Yunho's ok."

Mingi's stomach flipped as Hongjoong glanced at the empty space where Yunho's car would normally be. It was like Hongjoong would rather still be with Yunho... "Where is he?"

"He needed to stay behind. Hopefully he will be back soon. San stayed with him."

"Should you go back? It looks like you'd rather be with him right now." Mingi said, crossing his arms.

"And what is that supposed to mean? You have no idea what's going right now." Hongjoong said, his tone getting a little harsh.

"Maybe not, but I know that it hurt seeing you drop everything and run after him without another word... I thought... I thought we were..." Mingi turned his head away. "But I guess it would make sense if you wanted to be with him, you guys have been together longer. I'm just the... I don't even know what I am... I'll just go now." Mingi started walking toward the door when Hongjoong stopped him by grabbing his hand.

"What on earth are you talking about Mingi?" The older looked shocked and very confused. "If you're implying that I want to... to... Just, no. I don't see Yunho in that way at all."

Mingi's heart started to pound a little harder. "But... I've seen the way he looks at you."

"What are you talking about? Mingi, I thought I made it obvious that I..." Hongjoong turned bright red and looked down at their joined hands. "That I wanted to try... Whatever this is..."

At those words, Mingi bent over and wrapped his arms around Hongjoong's waist, then lifted him off the ground. The older chuckled and wrapped his arms around Mingi's neck as they Mingi pulled him in close.

"I'm sorry..." Mingi whispered, burying his face in Hongjoong's neck. "I didn't mean to get jealous."

The older twisted his fingers in Mingi's dark brown hair. "It's ok. It's actually kind of cute."

Mingi groaned and tightened his grip.

"Mingi?" Hongjoong tilted his head back and Mingi lifted his in response. "I'm sorry if I gave you a reason to worry, or, or feel that way. I told you, I've never dated or even thought of dating before, so I really don't know what I'm doing."

The older had turned an adorable shade of pink as he picked at something on Mingi's shoulder. He didn't even seem bothered by the fact that Mingi was still holding him off the ground. This allowed them to be at eye level and Mingi could study Hongjoong's hazel eyes. They were beautiful.

"I think you've been doing just fine." Mingi whispered before leaning forward and giving Hongjoong a gentle kiss.

The hand on the back of his head gripped his hair a little tighter and Mingi let out a low grown as he brushed his tongue over Hongjoong's lips.

He could tell the older was hesitant, but the second pass got him to open his mouth and Mingi slipped his tongue inside.

Now it was Hongjoong's turn to make a sound. He moaned into the kiss as their tongues swirled together.

He tasted so good. Mingi could feel himself getting turned on as Hongjoong tried to press their bodies even closer together.

Then he surprised Mingi by wrapping his legs around Mingi's waist.

The younger groaned again, then walked carefully forward until he had Hongjoong pressed against the wall.

He felt Hongjoong's hand slip down the back up his shirt and his hand run over his spine, making him shiver. So he took one of this hands and slipped it under the bottom of Hongjoong's.

They both broke the kiss for a moment to breath, then Mingi forced the older's head back with his nose and started to kiss along his jaw and neck.

The sound of the garage door opening again made them both jump and Mingi pulled Hongjoong down to hid behind a work bench.

"Mingi, what are y-" Hongjoong was cut off when Mingi placed a hand over his mouth, shushing him.

He smirked when he felt Hongjoong shiver as he started kissing his neck again. Teasing the older was fun. Hongjoong squirmed in his grip as a car pulled into the garage.

Mingi decided to have a little more fun by slipping one of his fingers into Hongjoong's mouth.

The older tensed, but Mingi looked up to see Hongjoong's eyes rolling to the back of his head as Mingi played with his tongue.

The sight drove Mingi crazy and he wanted nothing more than to take it further.

He continued to kiss along Hongjoong's neck and shoulder, pushing aside the top of his shirt, as two car doors slammed and they heard Yunho say, "Thanks, San. I didn't make you uncomfortable did I?"

"N-No... I liked it." The younger answered with a small voice.

Hongjoong let out a small whimper as Mingi sucked hard enough on one spot to leave a mark.

"I did too." Yunho said softly.

Things were silent for a moment, then the garage door into the house opened and closed.

As soon as it did, Hongjoong squirmed out of Mingi's grip and grabbed his hand and pulled him to the door.

Mingi's heart was racing as they opened and closed it quietly, then snuck down the hall. They paused outside the kitchen when they heard voices.

"I'm glad you're home and doing ok." Yeosang said.

"Do you want to talk about it at all?" Seonghwa asked, his voice soft and kind.

"No," Yunho hummed. "I'm ok now. San and Hongjoong really helped me. Just... Give me a little time and I'll fill you guys in, ok?"

"Sure." The oldest said, and the sound of the freezer door opened.

Knowing that door would block the view from the kitchen, Hongjoong pulled Mingi forward and they ran down the hall to his room.

The door was quickly closed and locked and Hongjoong guided Mingi over to his bed.

"Are you sure about this?" Mingi asked, hesitating for a moment.

"Really?" Hongjoong said, smirking as he pulled his own shirt of. The sight of him took Mingi's breath away. "You do all that down in the garage and you want to back out now?"

Mingi pursed his lips and grunted as he removed his shirt, tossing it to the side to join Hongjoong's before they both moved on to removing their pants.

Then Hongjoong pulled Mingi to him and they fell back onto his bed, lips connected with a heated kiss as their hands started to explore each other's bodies.

As Mingi found the hem of Hongjoong's boxers, he shifted so he was laying next to the older and let his hand slip into them.

Hongjoong gasped into their kiss and tilted his head back, which Mingi took advantage of by sucking on his exposed Adam's apple.

The older squirmed a little as Mingi started to stroke him slowly, giving his semi-hard member the attention he knew it was craving. And the moan Hongjoong gave him confirmed his thoughts.

Soon they where taking off their last piece of clothing and Mingi hesitated when he saw Hongjoong's eyes grow wide. He rubbed the back of his neck nervously and looked down. "We d-don't have to..."

"No," Hongjoong said quickly. "It's ok, I'm just... I never b-been with someone that b-b-big..." The older turned a deep red and slapped his hands to his face.

Mingi chuckled and felt his chest swell with a little bit of pride as he lowered himself over Hongjoong and kissed both of his hands. "We don't have to if you're scared."

Hongjoong spread his fingers apart and peeked through them. "I'm not scared, but I am nervous. I don't have a lot of experience... Just a couple of o-one n-night stands..."

Once again, Mingi let out a soft chuckle as he reached up to twist some of Hongjoong's short strands of hair between his fingers. "We can take it slow. We don't have to do anything you don't want to do. I know this is... Fast." He said, suddenly worried that he had pushed Hongjoong into doing something he wasn't ready for. "You just drive me crazy."

At that, Hongjoong lowered his hands and gazed up at Mingi. "Yeah, this is fast. But... It feels right. I don't know how to explain it. But if I'm going to attempt to be a, um... a b-boyfriend... Then this is part of it, right?"

Mingi felt his heart melt but pound at the same time as Hongjoong struggled to admit his feelings. "Yes this is part of it, but we haven't put a label on anything and this is something that doesn't have to happen until you're ready." Mingi lowered his hand to caress Hongjoong's cheek.

He felt the older move his legs so they were intertwined at the end of the bed. "I... I'm nervous. But I'm ready." Hongjoong whispered before extending his neck to kiss Mingi a gentle but needy kiss.

Mingi felt like he was going to explode from happiness as he pulled Hongjoong to him so they were both on their sides. He ran his hands down Hongjoong's back slowly, taking in every inch of it before he smirked into their kiss while cupping the older's ass and squeezing slightly.

Hongjoong moaned and and tried to pull Mingi closer to him.

Their breathing got faster as their bodies moved as one and their pleasure grew at each other's touch.

"Do you have anything?" Mingi panted as he rolled so he was on top again, latching his lips onto Hongjoong's collarbone.

"D-Drawer." The older whimpered, digging his nails into Mingi's back.

The taller stretched an arm out and fumbled in the nightstand drawer, trying not to break contact with Hongjoong as his hand flopped around. Finally he found the small bottle he was looking for and flipped the lid up with his thumb, then squirted some onto his fingers.

He felt Hongjoong shiver against him as he lowered his fingers to his entrance and pressed against it gently.

Even though he whimpered, Hongjoong rocked his hips down to apply more pressure from Mingi's fingers.

So he gently slipped on it, moving it slowly inside until it was in the all way.

Hongjoong clenched around him and hissed while biting his lip.

"It's ok baby, just try and relax." Mingi whispered against the older's neck before kissing it.

After a few minutes, Mingi was able to slip in a second, shortly followed by a third. He twisted them back and forth and made a scissoring motion to try and help with the stretch that was soon to come.

He loved the small whimpers and moans coming out of the older as he increased his speed and Hongjoong clung to him.

"Are you ready?" Mingi asked, closing his eyes as he connected their lips again.

Hongjoong just nodded as he fisted Mingi's hair.

Once again, Mingi poured some of the lube on his hands and stroked his own length several times before lining it up with Hongjoong's entrance.

He stared down at the older, his heart fluttering as Hongjoong peered up at him through his long eyelashes.

At a single nod, Mingi started to push himself in, taking it slow as Hongjoong's face twisted in slight pain.

He bent forward and started placing several kisses on Hongjoong's lips, cheeks, nose, and neck to help him relax.

When he was finally able to bottom out, Mingi let out a long sigh. Hongjoong felt amazing around him. He was pretty sure he could stay like this forever.

But Hongjoong had other ideas. "M-Mingi... M-Move."

The younger obliged, slowly pulling his length out and pushing it back in repeatedly, picking up the pace with each thrust.

Hongjoong's mouth opened and his eyes scrunched such in pleasure, but no sound came out as he started rocking his hips to help Mingi go in even deeper.

"Joong..."He moaned, letting his head fall forward to rest on Hongjoong's shoulder as the older dug his nails into Mingi's back.

He got a hum in response and knew that Hongjoong agreed with how good he felt.

The fire in his stomach started to grow and Mingi increased the speed of his thrusts. He could feel his peak coming and it drove him forward as his desire for that high he hadn't experienced in a few years called for him.

"Min...g... I'm..." Hongjoong panted, extending this neck to kiss along Mingi's neck.

It sent and shiver down his spine and he felt himself slow a little as he tried to savor the feeling of Hongjoong's lips on his skin.

But Hongjoong let out a little whine of protest and Mingi immediately picked up the pace again.

After a couple more thrusts, Hongjoong cried out as he reached his climax, spraying both their chests. It caused him to clench tightly around Mingi's length, drawing the younger's climax as well.

They both panted heavily as they wrapped their arms around each other and pulled each other close.

"Wow..." Hongjoong said after several minutes before kissing the side of Mingi's neck again.

The younger pulled out and grabbed his shirt, using it to clean them off before rolling them onto their sides. "Are you ok? It wasn't too much, was it?" He asked, studying Hongjoong carefully.

"Yes, it was perfect." Hongjoong gave a small smile as he stroked Mingi's cheek.

Then he closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around Mingi before nuzzling into his chest.

Mingi hummed and wrapped Hongjoong's body with his arms and legs, engulfing the smaller boy as if he could shield him from everything.

And he agreed. That was perfect.


	23. Chapter 23

About a month passed before the team had their next big break.

Once he discovered it, Yeosang set off the internal alarm to alert them, calling them all to his room.

"What is it?" Hongjoong asked, getting there first with Mingi. The others arrived shortly after.

"I just intercepted a coded transmission. There's a group that's going to hit Booker's Bank at 10:23 tonight." Yeosang said, tilting his head to the side as he listened to the message again. "They keep talking about a package. So there must be something in one of the vaults beneath the bank itself. They need it for something."

"Do we know who it is?" Seonghwa asked from where he was standing in the back.

"No. No names. They are being careful. It took me some time to decode their message too." Yeosang glanced up at his leader. "They are going to be heavily armed. This is the real deal."

He watched as Hongjoong rubbed his eyebrow and pursed his lips while staring at the screen. A million scenarios must be running through his head right now.

Mingi stood just behind him, watching him carefully.

The two had come out as a couple a few weeks ago and now they were inseparable. Yeosang still didn't know them very well, but Hongjoong seemed more relaxed and was taking his role as a leader better, taking time to consult the others and participate in trainings.

Following his thoughts, Hongjoong turned around and looked at everyone. "What do you guys think?" He asked, looking mainly between Yunho and Seonghwa. They were the ones Hongjoong tended to lean on the most. That was the other thing Yeosang admired about him. He didn't show favoritism to Mingi just because they were dating.

The hacker leaned back in his chair as he slowly pushed his sucker back and forth with his tongue while listening to the recording again, looking for anything he might have missed.

"Well, I'll be up on the roofs if you need me to be. I know you like having a second pair of eyes to catch things Sangie might miss." Seonghwa said, glancing at the hacker.

"I like it too." Yeosang threw in. "The more eyes the better, my drones can only pick up so much."

Hongjoong nodded in agreement. "Ok, the rest of us will be on the ground. San, are you up for this?" He asked, looking at the younger.

San straightened up and nodded his head, then looked up and Yunho. He had come a long way in the last month and as far as Yeosang knew, he had only had a few incidents. But he had been able to push them away easily.

"Ok, I want you and Wooyoung to be waiting in the shadows on the north side of the building. That will be where you can get in and get down to the vaults." Hongjoong said.

Yeosang spun around and let his fingers fly over his keyboard, creating a map of the bank and surrounding area on the screen.

Hongjoong moved a little closer and pointed to where he wanted them waiting. "And Mingi and I will be over here, the south side, watching the front entrance. Yunho, I want you waiting nearby in the car, but ready to come aid if needed. We don't know what we are dealing with so I want to be able to make a quick getaway if needed."

"Sure thing." Yunho said, picking at his lip. "And if we get separated?"

Their leader looked at each of them in turn. "Do your best to get away. Stay hidden. Don't come back here right away. Remember Yeosang can track you so if you get lost, ping him and he can help you."

Everyone nodded, except for Jongho, who looked a little dejected, but he didn't say anything.

Yeosang felt his heart sink a little, knowing that the younger was upset he had to stay behind to watch him...

"Ok," Hongjoong pulled up the hologram watch from his bracelet. "You have one hour, get your things and meet in the garage." He nodded to finalize things and everyone fled from the room.

Yeosang watched as Jongho left last, leaving with his head bowed and hands shoved in his pockets.

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.

Wooyoung ran down the hall to the weapons room with San closed by his side. The two had bonded a little more over the past month. He had actually grown to like the older's kind and timid nature. And as long as San didn't start calling him... names... Then he was fine with him.

They slipped in to where Wooyoung kept all his gear and they quickly changed into their uniforms together, pulling their hats low over their head.

He smiled when San helped him adjust his hat and patted his shoulders. "Looks good." The older said, his voice muffled by his mask.

Wooyoung nodded and the two of them started going through the collection of knives in front of them. He ran his fingers over them, loving the chill touching the cool metal gave him. He was excited to get out into the field again, missing the adrenaline that came with sneaking around and hunting people.

Picking up the first one, he slipped it into his boot, then strapped several to his waist, chest, thighs, and shoulders. He even picked up a long sword and slung the halter for it over his shoulders.

San was similarly decked out, but then he turned and hurried from the room.

Wooyoung followed and noticed he ducked into the gun room. He peaked inside and saw San grabbing a couple of hand guns and attaching their holsters to his waist.

The older was skilled in a lot of things, so Wooyoung didn't blame him for wanting to be prepared.

Then his eyes fell to where Seonghwa was lacing up his boots. He had a serious look on his face, but the way his body was bent over and stretched made Wooyoung gut flip.

Seonghwa had been so kind to him while his ankle was healing and Wooyoung found himself drawn to the older, feeling comforted by his presence.

And as if he knew Wooyoung was there, Seonghwa looked up and smiled at him. "Hey Woo, did you need a gun?"

The younger cringed at the thought, but he still stepped inside. "No, I was just following San."

Seonghwa nodded with a soft smile as he walked over to the wall and rubbed his chin while going over his choices.

Wooyoung stood off to the side and watched as San and Seonghwa discussed the different guns that might be needed. He didn't like them. They were too loud and too unpredictable. He knew how to shoot one, but it would be a last resort.

The other three came to join them, all in their uniforms.

It was at that time that Wooyoung slipped out and went to the garage. It was getting a little too cramped for his liking in the small room. He knew he needed to calm his racing heart, so the cool garage would do just the trick.

He made his way over to one of the work benches and hopped up so he was sitting on it and let his legs swing back and forth while he closed his eyes and lowered his mask to take some deep breaths.

Being in a small room with a lot of people still did things to his mind that he didn't like to admit. He was finally in a place that the others were trusting him and not as awkward around him. He couldn't ruin it now...

But if he was being honest. He was probably in worse shape than San was right now. The older had shown great progress on his medication. And he took orders from Yunho really well, which seemed to ground him and give him something to focus on. The two of them were turning into a really good team.

Which is why Wooyoung was slightly surprised that Hongjoong had paired him with San. Maybe he was hoping San would rub off on Wooyoung and keep him under control.

But Wooyoung was determined to do that on his own this time. He didn't want to disappoint anyone again.

The door to the garage opened and closed again and Wooyoung was able to pick up the very feint sound of leather rubbing against cement.

"Hey, are you ok?" Seonghwa's deep voice rolled over him and Wooyoung had to work hard not to react.

"Yeah, just trying to get in the zone." He said, not opening his eyes.

"There was too many of us in there." Seonghwa said. It was a statement, not a question, and the harshness of his tone had Wooyoung nodding. "You need to say something, Wooyoung, otherwise we won't know when you're uncomfortable."

The younger looked down, feeling ashamed. "I'm sorry, I can't help it... It's just... who I am."

"And that's what we are trying to work on." Seonghwa came to stand directly in front of him. "But we can't help you if you don't communicate."

"It wasn't the number of people," Wooyoung said after sighing deeply. "It was the size of the room. It made me feel restricted and I didn't like it. So I removed myself from the situation."

Seonghwa hummed. "Well that's a start. But vanishing like that isn't going to fix things. No matter how much it goes unnoticed." The older said, the corners of his mouth tilting up a little.

"You noticed." Wooyoung said, peering up at him through his eye lashes.

Seonghwa looked like he was about to say something, but the garage door opened again and the others came filing out one by one.

Wooyoung slipped off the bench and made his was over to the van they would be using. He hesitated as everyone gathered around it and the back door slid open.

San seemed to sense his unease and grabbed his hand, pulling him to the open pack seat of the vehicle. He gave the older a grateful nod and pulled his legs to his chest, easily shifting his knives out of the way so he would be comfortable.

Seonghwa gave him a concerned glance as he sat in the seat diagonal from him but Wooyoung just tried to give him a reassuring smile.

"Alright." Hongjoong said from the front passenger seat. "We all know what we need to do?"

Everyone nodded.

"Good. Use your heads. Listen for Yeosang's cues. We've got this."

Yunho gave a nod before backing out and heading to their destination.

The car ride was a tense one as every one worked to get into their own zone.

They dropped off Seonghwa first, who flashed his eyes one last time at the youngest member in the car before running to the building he would be setting up on.

"You're path is clear Seonghwa." Yeosang said over their head piece.

Yunho drove around the block and parked the van where he could see the front of the bank and the four members of the ground crew hopped out.

"Be ready for anything." Hongjoong said, turning to his friend.

Wooyoung smirked when Yunho just nodded and pulled out the shotgun he had selected it and pumped it once. "I've got your back. Be careful, all of you."

Hongjoong and Mingi nodded, taking off to their destination.

Wooyoung looked around for San and noticed he had gone to the driver side door and was leaning through the open window. He had his forehead connected with Yunho's and the older was whispering something to San.

They both nodded and San tilted his head back to give Yunho a quick, but passionate kiss.

Wooyoung's face heated up and he turned away. Where had that come from? He thought Hongjoong and Mingi were the only ones who had hooked up... Had San and Yunho been doing it in secret? Or was he just the last to find out?

As the couple parted, San's face when from smiling and giddy to serious and focused in a split second. "Come one, this way." He said, crouching over and running down the alley next to them with silent steps.

Wooyoung glanced up at the rooftop he knew Seonghwa would be camped out on for a brief moment, then followed after his partner for the evening.

.

.

.

.

Seonghwa swallowed the lump in his throat as he watched Hongjoong and Mingi take off to their marked location.

He swiveled and caught San vanishing into the shadows, then Wooyoung hesitating and looking up at him.

It was at that moment that he felt a pit in the bottom of his stomach as his worry for the boy grew.

He had been doing well in training and with the others, but Seonghwa had no idea how he would react in another situation like last time.

And he knew Wooyoung was still having those nightmares occasionally.

There was a sad look in his eyes as he gazed up a the building that Seonghwa wished he could erase.

But then Wooyoung was gone, blending in with the shadows perfectly.

That's when the pit grew and he had the sensation slam into him that something bad was going to happen tonight...


	24. Chapter 24

San narrowed his eyes as he eyed the entrance in front of him. He was determined to not mess this up. He had to prove that he could be trusted. He could do this.

Wooyoung came to crouch next to him and they exchanged a look letting the other know that their back was covered.

Their task was simple.

Wait for Yeosang's signal, sneak in, and try to prevent whatever mysterious item was in there from being stolen.

"Performing scan of building now." Yeosang's voice said through his ear piece.

_Get out of here San._

"The top several floors are clear, but there are about ten men on the first floor by the big vault door. It's at the back of that vault that there is a second door for them to get through that then leads to the underground vaults." The hacker hesitated. "I'm trying to find a floor plan of the building, but my drones can't scan below the first floor. They must have some sort of high tech security system in place. Which is good because that means they should have a hard time breaking through it too."

"Thanks Yeosang." Hongjoong said quietly. "We are all in position, awaiting your signal."

"I don't like this." Jongho's voice came in. "It looks like they are all just standing around, like they are waiting for something."

_Trust us. You don't want to be here._

San shook his head and gritted his teeth. "We are already here, we might as well observe for a bit."

"I agree." Hongjoong said. "Seonghwa what do you see?"

"Same thing. They are heavily armed. I've got a clear view of most of them, I could take out maybe half right now." The oldest said.

"No, not yet. Let's wait and see what happens." Their leader said.

San glanced at where Wooyoung crouched next to him. The younger looked nervous. "Are you ok?" San whispered to him.

Wooyoung gave him a tense smile and nodded. But he pulled out one of his knives and started fiddling with it, confirming San's thoughts. So he reached back and took his hand.

_Since when did you become so soft?_

San closed his eyes and swallowed. He squeezed Wooyoung's hand to comfort him, but also seeking comfort for himself. He didn't have time now to imagine locking the voices away so he would do his best to fight through this and ignore them.

"Someone's pulling up." Yeosang said.

San turned and looked back down the alley, watching a black truck pull up in front of the bank. Several more men got out, followed by someone who looked to be in charge. He had a serious look on his square face and all the men surrounded him.

"Seonghwa, can you see who that is? Yeosang?" San asked.

"I'm trying to run a facial recognition scan now." The hacker replied.

But there was no answer from Seonghwa.

Wooyoung shifted a little and looked up at the building Seonghwa was waiting on. "Seonghwa?" He asked, his voice shaking a little.

The man lifted a hand to his ear, pressing against an earpiece and started to talk.

_Last chance San. You should listen to us. We only want to protect you._

San cringed and twisted his head as he felt the voices trying to take over. He couldn't give in.

The large group of men walked into the bank and out of San's, but he agreed with the voices. Something didn't feel right. "Are they doing anything with the vault yet?"

"No." Yeosang answered. "This group is standing there too."

"I don't get it." Hongjoong hissed. "Seonghwa, what do you see? ... Seonghwa?? Can you hear me?"

Now San glanced up at the building too. What was going on?

"Sorry, earpiece f-fell out." Seonghwa said. "I'm here. I can't really see anything. They all have their backs turned to me. But they are looking at the safe now."

"Wooyoung and I can slip in to get a better view." San said, glancing at the younger. Wooyoung's eyes widened in response, but San just gave him a reassuring nod.

There was a long silence.

"Be careful." Hongjoong said.

With that, San and Wooyoung hurried forward, staying low to the ground.

_San... You're going to regret this._

They pulled open the door and turned sideways to slip in, staying close to the wall. Thankfully everything was dark, so they blended in perfectly.

Wooyoung took the lead, his leather boots making no sound as he made his way down the long hall and into the main room.

Hushed voices could be heard from the large group of people.

"There's no way they are going to be able to break into that." Mingi whispered. He and Hongjoong must have also slipped inside. "I don't even think I could break that lock..."

_San..._

Wooyoung crouched under a desk and peered around the corner, signaling for San to stop.

_San..._

He could feel the voices trying to take over and couldn't help but let out a small whimper. His eyes fell to Wooyoung as he cracked his neck.

"Why aren't they doing anything?" Jongho asked. "I think you should abort.

San scanned the room and saw it rigged with explosives.

**_Perfect._ **

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.

.

Wooyoung's heart raced as he strained to hear what the men were talking about. He too had a bad feeling about this, but he was determined to prove himself to Hongjoong and the others.

When he was sure that no one could see him, he dashed forward and hid under another desk.

"Wooyoung be careful." Yeosang said.

He was too close now to respond, but he nodded, knowing that if Yeosang was watching him that he would see.

"The door is too thick, this will never work." One of the men said.

"Do you see how many explosives we have?"

"I think we should add a few more."

"There has to be a better way to get down there."

Then a more commanding voice cut off all the others and Wooyoung thought he heard someone suck in a breath in the earpiece. "We move tonight. I always get what I want."

Wooyoung froze.

_I always get what I want, pet._

No. It... It couldn't be.

He felt his hands start to shake.

"Get out and get ready to blow this place." The voice said.

There was no doubting it. He knew that voice... and it still haunted him in his sleep.

_I always get what I want. And right now, I want you._

"But Sir! If you do this, it will attract every police officer in the city."

A gunshot filled the air and Wooyoung had to cover his mouth to muffle the whimper that his mask wouldn't completely cover.

"And that's exactly what I want. Blow it!" He ordered.

Wooyoung looked to the side and watched in horror as San slowly stood up.

Only it wasn't the San he had grown to know and care for.

This San had a dark look in his eyes as he sneered down at Wooyoung. He tilted his head to the side, and Wooyoung had no problem envisioning the twisted smile that would be behind his mask.

"San what are you doing?" Yeosang asked, sounding worried.

"San get down!" Seonghwa said.

"Sannie what are you doing?" Yunho finally chimed in and San froze.

Wooyoung watched as he extended his neck and rolled his head while his hand twitched next to one of his knives.

"Sannie get down, please." Yunho begged.

"Abort. Abort mission." Hongjoong ordered.

But not in time.

Several explosions came from around the vault door, shaking the entire building and sending debris in all directions.

Wooyoung cried out as one shattered the desk above him, but thankfully it took most of the impact.

He looked up and saw San running for one of the men who had come back in the building. The older jumped and plunged a knife into the man's chest, dropping him immediately.

A single shot ran out and another man dropped to the floor next to Wooyoung.

Knowing Seonghwa had his back, he ran forward to attack the men pouring into the building. There was no escape now.

He ducked under a swinging arm and slices at a man's calf, dropping him to his knees so Wooyoung could twist and run the knife across his throat.

Then he spun and shoved the blade up another man's rib cage, cringing as he spat blood in his face in response before falling to the floor.

A gun fired next to his head and Wooyoung flinched before spinning around to strike again.

A hand stopped him and he realized it was Mingi, keeping him from attacking Hongjoong.

Wooyoung nodded in thanks and turned back to the fighting. He saw San getting deeper and deeper in the mix, but he was a flurry of arms and legs as he took down the thugs.

Then the building started to shake and he paused, looking up. "We need to get out now!" He yelled, watching cracks in the ceiling appear.

Everyone else, including the men trying to rob the bank, all stopped and looked up too.

"Now!" The deep voice from earlier called out.

Suddenly his men spun around and Wooyoung felt and arm wrap around his waist and arms and lift him off the ground. "Let go of me!" He screamed, trying to reach for one of his knives.

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF HIM!" He heard Mingi roar.

Wooyoung's heart started to race as he was carried out of the burning building. The man holding him was strong, keeping his arms pinned to his sides.

What the hell was happening?

Several screams came from behind him and then the sound of the building crumbling drowned them out.

He had no idea where anyone else was, or what was happening to them.

There was a gunshot.

Wooyoung fell to the ground and rolled, pulling his knife out of his boot and springing in to an attack position. But his captor was face down on the ground with blood pooling around him.

An engine revved next to him and Yunho came speeding in, jumping the curb in the van and heading straight toward the main group.

Everyone did their best to jump out of the way, although one man went up and over the van and landed with a sickening crunch on the ground behind it.

Wooyoung ducked under another attacker, but his arm caught his hat, sending it flying. After slicing that man's throat, Wooyoung ran after it, scrambling to stay on his feet as he was jostled around.

When he finally grabbed it, he stood and froze. Suddenly all he could hear was his heart pounding in his ears as he locked eyes with his nightmare.

The other froze, halfway in his car, as their eyes met.

He sneered and snapped his fingers before pointing at Wooyoung.

Two men broke off from the group and advanced toward him.

Two gunshots echoed off the building and both men dropped.

The man looked around, shocked, before giving one last glance in Wooyoung's direction before he got into the truck and it sped away.

"Fall back!" Hongjoong's voice said in his ear. "They are breaking up! Fall back!"

Wooyoung turned to see Mingi and Hongjoong back to back as they fought of their last attackers. Yunho had San tucked under his arm and was firing his hand gun rapidly. San was clinging to his shirt and there was blood dripping down his arm.

"Wooyoung get out of there!" Yeosang yelled.

He turned around just in time to dodge one last attacker, slipping behind him and stabbing him several times.

As the rest of the men fled, the group of five ran to the van and piled inside.

Wooyoung pulled San to him in the backseat so he could lay down. The older was whimpering and shaking, but Wooyoung couldn't tell if it was from the wound, or trying to fight the voices. "It's ok, San. Deep breath. We are heading home." Wooyoung whispered.

Yunho slammed on the gas and squealed away from the sidewalk to pick up Seonghwa.

Mingi had Hongjoong in his lap and was wrapping a bandage around his forearm. "What the hell happened back there?" He asked, not looking away from what he was doing.

"I don't know, but it's like they knew someone would be there tonight." Hongjoong said, glancing at the rear view mirror to look at Yunho.

The driver's lip was in a snarl and he kept glancing back at San. "How could they possibly know? We haven't been that active."

"Maybe they just hoped someone would show up." Yeosang chimed in. "From what we overheard from Wooyoung, it sounded like they genuinely wanted to rob the place, but the one man sounded like he wanted to draw attention to the robbery."

Hongjoong swore, then yelped as Mingi tied off the bandage. The taller murmured a quick apology and Hongjoong sighed heavily before resting his head on Mingi's shoulder.

Wooyoung's hands shook as he tried to force that voice out of his head. He had never wanted to hear it again...

The van screeched to a stop and Seonghwa jumped in the side door and slammed it shut. "Take the long way home." He ordered before turning around and locking eyes with Wooyoung. He crouched in the isle and lifted his hand up to grab Wooyoung's chin so he could turn his head back and forth. "Are you ok?"

Wooyoung could hear the concern in his voice and wanted nothing more than to fall forward and be in his arms... But he was scared he would end up panicking and hurting everyone in the van, so he nodded and forced a tense smile.

Seonghwa didn't seem satisfied, but he looked down at San and peeled away the sides of his shirt. "It's not deep, just long." He said, rubbing San's head. "Are you ok?"

The younger whimpered and nodded before scrunching his face.

"Block it out, Sannie." Yunho said from the front of the car.

Wooyoung felt San relax and he tilted his head to meet Yunho's eyes in the mirror. He ran his finger's through San's hair and the older nuzzled in to him a little bit.

He felt Seonghwa's eyes on him as they drove home, but he ignored it, not wanting to see the pity or the shame that was probably in them.


	25. Chapter 25

Seonghwa was tense the entire drive home as he switched between watching Wooyoung and watching the road behind them to see if anyone was following them.

Yeosang would check in too, stating he didn't see anything out of the ordinary, but Seonghwa knew he couldn't be too careful.

Not after who he saw down there...

He was terrified, and he could tell that Wooyoung was too.

All Seonghwa could see was the sneer on his face as he looked at Wooyoung. It was like he had recognized him... And then to order his guards...

It made Seonghwa's blood boil.

The ride was silent as everyone absorbed what just happened. It felt like they had lost again, even though they had kind of succeeded in preventing the bank from being robbed.

Hongjoong had already called in another team to survey the damage and work on getting things cleaned up. He promised he would be by later to help after he made sure everyone else was ok.

When Yunho finally pulled into their garage, both Yeosang and Jongho were waiting for them, anxious looks on their faces.

"Don't go anywhere, we all need to talk and then I need to leave." Hongjoong said as he moved off Mingi's lap and opened the door.

Seonghwa helped San sit up and out the van, right into Yunho's waiting arms. The older cringed when he saw San's arm and lifted him up by his waist to place him on a workbench.

Yeosang hurried over with a first aid kit and the two of them worked to clean and bandage San's arm. "You were right, Seonghwa, it wasn't deep thankfully." Yeosang said, turning to reassure the others.

Everyone's shoulders seemed to relax a little at his words.

But then Hongjoong sighed and ruffled his hair. "What happened out there, San?"

Everyone turned to the boy, making him flinch for just a second, but then he straightened up and looked at Hongjoong. "They tried to come back. They were telling me to get out of there like... like they knew what was going to happen." He looked up at Yunho, suddenly looking very scared. The taller placed a hand over his and squeezed gently. "And then when they started talking about the bomb I got scared and... I was gone, but only for a second. I think the explosion scrambled everything and I was able to gain control again, but by then it was too late... That's why I started fighting. They were coming at me and Wooyoung..."

"I don't fault you for that. I don't think we would have made it out without a fight. Not with the building collapsing around us." Hongjoong gave San a reassuring smile. "I'm just glad to see that we are all, mostly, ok. San, Wooyoung, Mingi, you held your own out there and I'm really proud of you. And Seonghwa and Yunho, I don't think we could have done this without your support at the end." Hongjoong looked at each in turn.

Seonghwa had to force himself to keep eye contact. He didn't feel like he had helped... Not really...

"Jongho and Yeosang, you're eyes on the screen was a big help."

"I couldn't of done it without Jongho." Yeosang said, beaming at the younger, who blushed a little. "There was so much going on I had a hard time staying focused on everything."

Hongjoong nodded and sighed once more. "Alright, I need to get back out there and do my other job." He said, laughing nervously as he went to the wall with their keys.

Mingi beat him there. "I'll drive."

The older didn't protest and turned to face the others. "Take some time to relax and collect your thoughts. I have a feeling we are going to be really busy soon now that we've been seen. I know they don't know who we are, but it will be known that we exist now."

Seonghwa nodded once, but his senses told him to look at Wooyoung. The younger was standing at the back of the group, looking down at the ground. He was trembling a little bit.

"I don't know about you guys, but I need a coffee and some food." Yunho said as they watched Mingi pull out of the garage.

Seonghwa couldn't help but chuckle along with the others. Food would be good.

Yunho helped San off the workbench and the two walked into the house hand in hand, followed shortly by Wooyoung.

Jongho and Yeosang said they would get started on some food, and get Yunho's coffee machine set up, while the others went to clean up.

Seonghwa stayed where he was. Once again he saw the man's face while standing partway in his car. Growling, Seonghwa tried to take a deep breath to calm his racing heart. He hated that man, with every fiber of his being.

And yet he still couldn't bring himself to shoot the man... He couldn't kill his own father.

He could have done it to. The first time being when he saw his father step out of the truck to go into the bank. But Seonghwa had been so stunned that he froze up.

Then he could have shot his father when he looked at Wooyoung. But once again his finger froze on the trigger.

He had no problem shooting the two thugs though. Seonghwa thought he had even recognized one of them, but that didn't matter. All he had been able to see was Wooyoung frozen under his father's gaze.

Seonghwa feared what that meant... His father had recognized Wooyoung by just looking at the upper half of his face.

The gunman roared and slammed his fists against the workbench. How could this have happened? Of all the times for Wooyoung's hat to get knocked off!

Wooyoung...

Seonghwa ran inside. He had been so focused on his own anger that he had completely forgotten the look on the younger's face as Hongjoong told them they all did a good job.

The younger's room was empty and so was the showers. Seonghwa ran back to the kitchen. He wasn't there either...

Yeosang and Jongho turned around from where they were leaning over the stove. "Are you ok?" The older asked, looking concerned.

"Did you see where Wooyoung went?"

A look of amusement crossed Yeosang's as he said, "I know he followed us inside, but I just saw him go down the hallway."

Seonghwa slapped the wall and ran back through the house. He had an awful feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"Seonghwa! What's going on?" Jongho called from the kitchen.

The older ignored him, looking in each room he passed.

If his fear really was correct, he was scared to think about what was running through Wooyoung's head right now. All he wanted to do was find him and make sure he was ok.

Make sure he was safe...

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Hongjoong pinched the bridge of his nose as he listened to the report being recited to him by the head officer.

Several bodies were found and identified as part of the Wolf Pack. Hongjoong cleared up that it was him and his men that took them out, they were trying to prevent a robbery.

There was no sign of the vault even being damaged by the explosion. Which was impressive, but he also hoped it meant the Wolf Pack's plans were foiled.

Although he had no doubt they would try again.

"Can we get a list of what is kept down there? I don't care what kind of warrants we need. I need to know what's down there so we can prepare for the next attempt. And get me a full blueprint of the underground vaults too."

"Yes, Sir." The officer said before hurrying away.

Hongjoong sighed and went over to where Mingi was studying the vault door. "Do you know what it is made of?"

The taller shook his head, his mouth slightly open in wonder. "No. I've... I've never seen anything like this." He placed a hand on the door. "It's... It's untouched. And this lock, I don't even know if I could begin to crack it. Maybe if I could focus on it, and only it, for as long as it took..."

Hongjoong scowled at the door. None of this set well with him at all. Normally he was good at solving problems, but nothing seemed to line up with this.

"Joong... What are you thinking?" Mingi asked, lowering his hand to brush their fingers together for a second before putting his hand in his pocket.

Hongjoong shot him a quick, grateful smile. They had already discussed keeping their relationship under wraps while with the rest of the police force. He didn't want it to tarnish his reputation as chief and thankfully Mingi agreed with it. He was actually the one who suggested it.

But that didn't stop Hongjoong from wanting to feel Mingi's arms around him. He was so stressed right now... And part of him was worried Seonghwa was hiding something. Even a blank look could say a lot about a person, and the way he kept looking at Wooyoung...

Mingi had said awhile ago that he felt like Seonghwa and Wooyoung would end up getting together. Maybe he was right. It was obvious that the gunner cared for Wooyoung. He proved it tonight by going straight to Wooyoung first when he got in the van.

But that look... Seonghwa knew something about the scared look on the younger's face. Hongjoong would find out at some point.

"Chief?" An officer came up to him and held out a phone.

Hongjoong took it and held it to his hear. "This is Chief Kim."

"Hongjoong, it's Agent Yeo. Would you care to explain why the biggest bank in our city has been blown up?!" Even through the phone, Hongjoong could tell just how upset his new boss was.

"It was hit by the mafia. We went to try and prevent it, but by the time we got there the explosives were already set. We managed to take down most of the men, and we are working on trying to figure out what they wanted from the bank. Nothing was taken though."

The agent sighed heavily. "I thought this team was supposed to prevent things like this Kim."

"It is. But we can't just go busting down doors, Sir. Yeosang picked up the intel and we went in as prepared as we could, but there's only so much we can do."

The line was silent for a long time. "I expect a statement from each one of you on my desk Monday. Get this figured out or you're through." Agent Yeo snapped before hanging up.

Hongjoong groaned and handed the phone back to the officer.

"Is everything ok?" Mingi asked quietly once the other man left.

"No. My boss is ticked off that this happened and wants a report from each of us."

Mingi's gaze softened a little as he gave a sympathetic smile. "He can't be too mad, we couldn't have prevented this. I'm sure once he see's Yeosang's data he will come around."

Hongjoong glanced up at the thief and felt his heart skip a beat. "Thanks Min. Alright, let's finish up here and go home."

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.

The cold air felt good on his face. It was refreshing and helped to chase away the pounding headache he had had ever since getting in the van.

But it didn't help enough.

He could still hear the voice in his head.

It degraded him.

Called him awful things.

He didn't want to hear it anymore...

It hurt to much.

And he didn't want to hurt anyone else either.

He knew he could lose control, especially with this.

The fear was to strong...

And he was too weak...

He always would be.

How could he be strong after what happened to him?

How could he be expected to come back from that?

It would haunt him forever.

Unless...

Unless he made it so nothing and no one could ever hurt him again...

The breeze...

It felt so good as he looked down from his perch on the balcony.


	26. Chapter 26

"I'm so proud of you." Yunho said as he closed the door to San's room. The younger turned to him with a half smile, but also a confused look in his eyes. "You did well fighting against the voices today from what it sounds like."

San hummed and moved to his bed. He sat in the corner and pulled his stuffed dog to his chest to bury his nose in it.

The taller tilted his head. "What's wrong?"

"I'm just scared of what could have happened." San mumbled into the stuffed animal while closing his eyes. Yunho went to sit on the bed next to him. "They... They got excited when they saw the bombs. They wanted me to activate them. I probably would have if the explosion hadn't happened on it's own. I was lost to them for a moment, and I know Youngie saw it." San whimpered as his shoulders started to shake.

"Hey, it's ok." Yunho pulled San to him and kissed the top of his head. "You've been doing so well, no one is going to fault you for having a small slip up."

"But at such a crucial time? If the explosion hadn't happened, I would have either caused it myself... or they would have made me do something to Wooyoung. He was such an easy target."

"But you didn't, that's the most important thing. Even if the explosion acted as a distraction for the voices, it allowed you to regain control, right?"

San whimpered again and looked up at him. "Yeah. It did."

"And then you stayed in control. And you fought well. I saw you protecting Hongjoong and Mingi."

Now a proud smile crossed San's face before he nuzzled into Yunho's side.

"Baby steps. That's all that can be asked of you right now." The taller whispered, rubbing San's arm as he watched the younger close his eyes and relax in to him. "I have a question for you."

"What is it?"

"I've been talking with Dr. Kim, and he is wanting to do a scan of your brain. I guess there are different parts of the brain that can trigger different things, and by doing a scan we can try to pinpoint what's going on and try to treat it. Does that sound like something you'd be comfortable with?"

San chewed on his bottom lip for a moment. "Do you think I should do it?"

"It wouldn't hurt. The machine is safe, just very loud. But I can be in there with you if you'd like. If... If we know what could be triggering this, then there are methods that have been developed to try and treat it and help you through it." Yunho said, now chewing on his own lip.

"Did Yuri do it?"

The taller shook his head. "No. She was afraid of small spaces, so being in the machine scared her."

San hummed and squeezed his dog. "Ok. I'll try it. If you think it'll help me."

"I do." He kissed the top of San's head. "I really do, Sannie."

He saw San's cheeks turn red before the younger tried to press himself a little closer.

Yunho really was proud of him. Tonight was a test for the younger. There was a lot more going on than what they had expected and he wasn't really surprised that San had been overwhelmed. Yunho had felt overwhelmed just listening to the commentary over the head piece...

Then when they started yelling at San to get down, Yunho's heart had dropped with fear. He knew he shouldn't have, but he couldn't contain himself anymore when he had decided to drive into the fighting that was going on. All he wanted was to go protect San.

He felt his heart warming as he gazed down at the boy. Who would have thought that Yunho would open his heart to someone like him? But it felt good knowing that someone needed him.

And now, he couldn't wait for this mafia fiasco to be over because he knew that he wanted to try and pursue something more.

Why the switch had happened so quickly, he had no idea... Maybe he didn't have the feelings he thought he did for Hongjoong.

Which could have been possible. He had never been in a relationship before or really had time to socialize since he spent a good majority of his adult life taking care of his sister.

At the thought of her, Yunho made his sign of respect, then thought about how much he wished she could meet San in person. He had a feeling she would like him.

"Yunho?" San whispered.

He hummed in response, still rubbing San's arm.

"Will you stay with me tonight?"

Yunho nodded instantly and shifted so that he and San were laying down. The younger pressed his nose to Yunho's chest and rubbed it back and forth.

He loved this feeling. For the first time since Yuri passed, Yunho didn't have the constant ache in his heart.

Being here with San felt right, and he would do everything he could to hold onto this feeling.

Hongjoong's words came back to him, and he smiled into the top of the younger's head. Everyone deserves a second chance.

He could be San's second chance at a life he never though he would have.

And San could be his second chance to love someone, and have someone love him in return.

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Seonghwa was running out of places to look. Every room he went to was empty, and with each failure, the pit in his stomach grew.

The only one he couldn't get in was San's room, but he had a good guess as to why since he and Yunho had disappeared as soon as they got inside.

His heart raced as he glanced at the end of the last hallway.

He hadn't checked the roof yet...

Seonghwa pushed himself forward, running as hard as he could. He gripped the cold, metal handle and yanked the door open. Something clattered against the ground but he didn't care. All he could focus on was climbing the stairs.

He didn't care that his lungs burned or that his feet were screaming at him.

He didn't care that the others would hate him when they found out...

All Seonghwa wanted was to know that Wooyoung was ok.

He pushed the door open to the roof and spun around.

Then he let out a strangled cry and ran forward. "Woo!"

The younger tilted his head just slightly.

Seonghwa could see that his whole body was trembling. "Wooyoung stop!" Why was this roof so long? He felt so heavy as he tried to run forward.

Wooyoung's hand twitched as he turned his head again.

Seonghwa lunged forward and grabbed the younger's hand, pulling him away from the ledge.

Wooyoung didn't even make a sound as he stumbled backward and into Seonghwa's arms. They both collapsed on the roof, and the older pulled Wooyoung to his chest. "What the hell were you thinking?" He said. When he didn't get an answer, he looked down to see Wooyoung curled in on himself, eyes scrunched shut, and shaking. "Woo?" He whispered.

"I don't want to feel this anymore..."

Seonghwa's heart broke at his words and he brought the younger as close to him as he could. "What can I do? What happened out there?"

"He recognized me... I knew who he was by his voice, and he recognized me by my face. I'm not surprised... He visited me often enough. Both where I was kept and in my nightmares..." Wooyoung spoke with a monotone voice as he stared at the wall. "And then... When he pointed at me..."

"Listen to me." Seonghwa grabbed his face so that Wooyoung could look at him. The fear and pain in his eyes contradicted the tone of his voice. "I won't let him hurt you again. I will do everything in my power to protect you. There's... There's something I need to tell you. And I don't know how to say it. But I know who that man was..." He looked down and closed his eyes. "God I hate myself right now. And I feel so disgusted."

Wooyoung shifted a little, resting his head on Seonghwa's shoulder. "It's ok. You don't have to say it. Can we... just stay like this?"

Seonghwa nodded and moved so he was sitting against the wall, making sure not to constrict Wooyoung too much as he did. "What can I do to help you?"

The younger was silent for a long time. "I don't know. I don't know how to forget. But now I'm afraid the nightmares are going to start again. How can I be a help to the team when I feel like this? And... What if he tries to find me?"

Knowing he didn't really want to hear it, Seonghwa had to force out his next question. "Why would he come after you?"

"He always told me I was his favorite, once he found me... And that he would t-t-take me with him if-f he could..." Tears finally came to Wooyoung's eyes because Seonghwa could feel them soaking into his shirt.

The older's gut twisted at his words. He had always wondered where his father went during the time he wasn't at the base, but he never imagined he'd be visiting whore houses. But at the same time... He didn't have a wife so it would make sense.

Seonghwa never knew anything about his mother. Just that she wasn't in the picture. His father told him that she had abandoned him when he was a baby.

Now he didn't know if he believed this or not...

"I won't let him hurt you." Seonghwa whispered again. The sneer on his father's face came back into his mind and he squeezed Wooyoung. "I'll protect you..."

"Why... I'm nothing but a whore..." Wooyoung said, almost quiet enough that Seonghwa missed it.

He felt his anger bristle a little and he grabbed Wooyoung's chin, trying to stay gentle, so that Wooyoung could look up at him. "That's not true. You are not what they labeled you as. That's on them, not you. You've done a good thing for a lot of people who needed it by freeing them and giving them a second chance at life."

Wooyoung blinked then pulled his chin away from the older's grip. "Second chance..."

"Yes. And you're in your second chance right now. That's what Hongjoong is giving all of us. A second chance at life, happiness, love."

The younger flinched at his last words and looked away. "No one could love someone broken like me."

Seonghwa paused, trying to find the right words to say, but for some reason, even he didn't know. It's like they were stuck in his throat and there was no releasing them.

Because they would never form.

He should be saying something like 'that's not true' or 'don't say things like that'.

But it was like something was holding him back. Three words that wanted to burst free, but they mortified him.

There was no way they could be true. He barely knew anyone here, and while he respected them, Seonghwa knew he didn't have any deep attachments to anyone.

And yet, he had run around like a mad man searching for the boy in his arms.

He had to be crazy.

"You're not broken Wooyoung. You could never be broken."

The younger didn't say anything, which he had expected. So he dared tightening his grip, and for once, Wooyoung didn't shy away when Seonghwa's arms enveloped him.

But still those three words... The ones that came into his mind whenever he saw Wooyoung in the training room, or at dinner, or looking up at him with a worried face through his scope...

They floated at the back of his throat, unsaid.

Maybe he was the one who was actually broken...

Because there was no way that Wooyoung would love him once he found out the truth...


	27. Chapter 27

Jongho pushed his lips out in a slight pout as he read through the recipe in front of him. He and Yeosang had decided to try and cook something for dinner so the others had something warm to eat once everything had settled down.

It also helped him keep his mind off the panicked look on Seonghwa's face when he had come by asking if they had seen Wooyoung.

So much had happened in just a short period of time, he didn't quite know what to think about it.

But his view on staying behind had changed a little.

With everything that had been going on at the bank, Yeosang had really been showing signs of being stressed while trying to keep an eye on everything.

So even though he had no idea what he was doing, Jongho had done his best to help the older out.

"Can you pass me the flour?" Yeosang asked from behind him.

Jongho grabbed the package, a small puff of white powder coming from it as he squeezed, and turned to hand it to the hacker.

He paused when he saw a lollipop stick protruding from between his lips. "Again? I swear that's your fifth one today."

Yeosang looked up at him with wide eyes, then turned red. "It's better than smoking, or some other disgusting habit." He mumbled, looking down.

Jongho couldn't help but smile a little at the embarrassed look on Yeosang's face. He was true, it was better than being a smoker. But eating all that sugar had to be bad too, right?

Maybe he was just being judgmental because he didn't like sweets.

He watched as Yeosang carefully measured out the flour and dumped it into a pan that had melted butter and a few other things in it.

"Where did you learn to cook? This is all gibberish to me." The fighter asked, turning back to the book on the counter.

Yeosang let out a low chuckle. "My mom. She was an amazing cook. She had this ability to make something amazing out of whatever she could find in our pantry. Maybe it was just my child eyes being enchanted by her passion, but there was never a meal I didn't like."

A sad smile crossed the younger's face that had Jongho stepping forward. "What happened to her?"

"She died." Yeosang's voice became a whisper as he continued to stir the sauce. "She got sick and couldn't afford the medicine or to go to the hospital. She didn't deserve any of it..."

"I'm so sorry." Jongho said, not sure what else he could say to try and comfort him.

Yeosang sniffed and rubbed his cheek. "It's ok. I really miss her sometimes. She was the kindest person I had ever met." He looked at the fighter with a small sparkle in his eyes. "She was a teacher too. Grade school. She loved kids with a passion." He turned back to the pan and poured in some heavy cream. "But nowadays teachers are paid like shit, and treated even worse, so we lived paycheck to paycheck."

Jongho bit his lip, unable to look away from the hacker even though he sensed someone else walking into the room.

"She always made sure I had something to eat. I always had three meals a day, even though there were a few times that she went hungry." The older sniffed again as he kept stirring slowly. "That's why I started to do what I did..."

"What do you mean?" Jongho tilted his head a little, then reached up to brush the tear on Yeosang's cheek away.

"One of my favorite stories growing up was 'Robin Hood', have you heard of it?"

Jongho nodded, now gently caressing Yeosang's cheek as he leaned into his touch.

"Well I was always good with computers in school, and after my mom died, I would stay for long hours to teach myself after class was over. I taught myself everything I know now. All so I could help others." Yeosang's voice kept fluctuating between being hard and quivering as he spoke. "I stole from the rich and would carefully siphon the money into the bank accounts of teachers. I studied their paydays and would go in and change their pay statements to reflect the additional amount I would add to every check. I never did enough to be detected, but I know I did enough to make a difference."

Jongho felt his heart beat a little faster when the softest of smiles tugged at the corner of Yeosang's lips and eyes. If he hadn't been staring at the older the entire time he probably would have missed it himself.

"Sometimes I would see them at the grocery store with their kids or their husband or wife, and they would pick up something they would really want, not something they needed and they had already budgeted for, but something they truly wanted. I would watch them as they would light up and put it in their cart when they realized they could actually afford it. I knew I was doing something illegal, but that look right there made everything worth it."

In that moment, Jongho thought that Yeosang was truly beautiful. The older seemed lost in his own world, and Jongho knew he was remembering the faces of all the people he would help.

Yeosang returned to his stirring, adding a little more cream, and Jongho dropped his hand.

He turned to see Hongjoong and Mingi standing in the corner. The taller had tears in his eyes, and Jongho thought he saw some in Hongjoong's too before he turned his head and looked away.

"Can you tell me the next step?" Yeosang looked up with a smile, then paused when he saw the couple in the corner. "Hey guys, you made it back. Is everything ok?" He asked, motioning to the cookbook still.

Jongho shuffled over and saw that next was adding some spices so he gathered what was needed, as well as some measuring spoons, and returned to the hacker's side.

Hongjoong let out a deep sigh. "Agent Yeo wants us to all file a report so he can get all of our stories. He's pretty upset about the bank being blown up, which is understandable. But if he doesn't like what we have to say then they could shut us down."

"What? No, they can't do that!" Jongho said, looking at his leader with wide eyes. "We are just getting started."

"I know." Hongjoong leaned against the counter and rubbed his eyebrow. "And if they pull our funding then I will figure something out, because I think there is something deeper going on. And we've only scratched the surface of it."

Mingi nodded and wrapped an arm around Hongjoong's waist. "I agree. We've come to far already to give up now."

"Give up on what?" Yunho asked, walking in to the room. San shadowed him as he always did, his finger laced with the taller's.

"How are you doing, San?" Yeosang asked, studying the younger.

"Better. I'm sorry I gave us away earlier." He glanced at Hongjoong and hid behind Yunho.

Their leader just gave him a kind smile. "It's ok. It was a tense situation and you handled yourself very well."

Jongho smiled when San straightened up a little and beamed at the leader as his growing confidence radiated off him.

"Where's Seonghwa and Wooyoung? They are usually some of the first go come when they smell food." Yunho looked around the room and paused to study what Yeosang was making.

"I'm not sure. We should probably go look for them though, Seonghwa came running by in a panic wanting to know where Wooyoung was." Yeosang said, glancing at Jongho.

"What?" San turned and blinked several times. "What's wrong with Youngie?"

"He seemed ok in the car, he was just focused on you San." Mingi said, glancing down at his boyfriend. "Although I was focused on patching Hongjoong up."

San made a sound between a grunt and a whine as he fled from the room.

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.

.

He had sensed something was wrong when they were in the back of the car, but San had been in too much pain to ask.

At one point during the fighting, he had noticed a different kind of fear in Wooyoung's eyes. Especially when the one man started talking.

That's what had sparked the voices to take over. When they had sensed the younger's weakness.

And now he was determined to make sure his friend was ok. He was terrified that Wooyoung would be upset with him for giving in and was determined to do whatever he needed to do to fix it.

He ran down the halls but kept turning up empty.

The last one he came to was the one where some of the bedrooms were kept, and he slid to a stop when he saw Seonghwa opening the door to his room.

Wooyoung was nestled safely in his arms and it looked like he was sleeping.

The older hesitated when he saw San standing there. His eyes were puffy and red, like he had been crying...

San took a step forward, but Seonghwa just shook his head twice before vanishing into his room.

Not knowing what to do, San just stood there. He rubbed his foot nervously against the ground as he debated knocking on the gunman's door.

Thankfully he didn't have to.

Seonghwa stepped back out a couple of minutes later and rubbed the back of his neck as he stopped in front of San.

"How is he? What's wrong?" San looked up at him, not liking how red Seonghwa's eyes were.

"Ok. He's just a little shaken right now. He just needs to rest."

"Yeosang is making dinner. Should we have some brought here?" San offered, glancing at Seonghwa's door.

"That probably wouldn't be a bad idea. Thanks Sannie." The older gave him a grateful smile before walking back to his room.

Still feeling worried, San went back to the kitchen.

Yeosang had finished cooking and was plating up chicken and potatoes and the sauce he had been making.

"Can I get two plates? Seonghwa has Wooyoung in his room and said that he needs to rest." San looked around the room nervously.

Hongjoong's forehead creased. "What happened?"

"I don't know, he wouldn't tell me."

The older glared at the ground. He looked like something was troubling him, but San knew it wasn't his place to ask.

Yeosang handed him two plates of food and he quickly took it to Seonghwa's room.

The older answered after San kicked the door with his foot and let San inside.

His heart broke a little when he saw Wooyoung curled up in Seonghwa's bed. The older had a larger bed, electing to take up more space in the room itself and have less floor space.

The younger had the comforter pulled up so that only his eyes and forehead was showing, and his eyes were puffy as well. But the way his chest was rising and falling told San he was asleep.

"What happened?" He asked, setting the plates down on Seonghwa's desk.

"It's not my place to tell." Seonghwa looked down at the ground and shifted uncomfortably. "But he is safe, that's what is important."

San hesitated, knowing there was a hidden meaning behind the older's words, but knew there would be a better time to ask about it later. "Can I do anything else?"

"No, just let him rest. I'll keep you guys updated."

Nodding slowly, San moved to the door and stepped outside. As he was closing it behind him, he watched as Seonghwa stared at the sleeping boy for a few seconds. Then he pulled back the covers and slipped under them before pulling Wooyoung close to him and holding him tight.

The action made San feel a little better, knowing that Wooyoung was going to be looked after. But that didn't stop the worry creeping up inside of him that something more then just the battle had happened tonight.

He hoped it wasn't his fault... He hadn't meant to lose control.

"Please don't let me have hurt him..." San murmured to himself as he slowly made his way back to the kitchen to rejoin the others.


	28. Chapter 28

Hongjoong shut his door behind him and leaned against it.

What a mess everything was turning in to... They needed to make some headway soon, otherwise this entire venture was going to be a waste. And there was no saying what would happen to them if they failed.

He made a mental note to have Yeosang start surveying the city more. There had to be something they were missing. The bank tonight was just a piece to this overwhelming puzzle.

But the thing that was nagging him right now was how Seonghwa reacted to everything. The fact that he had disappeared for a few minutes worried him. Especially because he was guessing that some of the people there tonight were people Seonghwa knew.

It was common knowledge that Seonghwa came from the Wolf Pack, and while there was no way to identify that was them tonight, it would make sense.

Hongjoong knew it would be a hard conversation, but it was one that needed to happen. And soon. If Seonghwa was going to have a hard time with picking a side... Then there were going to be issues.

And then the way the older was reacting around Wooyoung right now. What had happened to him tonight?

No one had seen them since they got home. San mentioned that Wooyoung was in pretty bad shape right now and was sleeping in Seonghwa's room.

Hongjoong ruffled his hair a little and stepped away from his door, only to turn around when he heard a soft knock. "Come in."

He relaxed instantly when Mingi walked in, flashing a sweet half smile. "Are you doing ok? You were hardly present at dinner."

"Yeah, I've just got a lot on my mind. What are we going to do Mingi?" He asked, walking forward to hug the taller.

Mingi enveloped him in his arms and kissed the top of his head. "Take things one step at a time. I think the first thing we need to do is make sure Wooyoung is ok."

"I agree..." Hongjoong closed his eyes, enjoying the gentle swaying motion they had started together.

He felt his cheeks heat up a little when he thought about how open he was to all of this suddenly. He went from not being interested in dating at all, to falling head over heels for someone. How did that happen?

While he didn't have an answer, Hongjoong couldn't help but think he had someone watching over him, because Mingi came along right when he needed him the most.

"There's nothing we can do tonight. Come on, let's try to get some rest." Mingi whispered before pulling Hongjoong over to his bed.

The taller turned around and started to unbutton Hongjoong's shirt, his long, thin fingers nimbly undoing each button easily.

Hongjoong could feel the small smile crossing his face as he studied the look of concentration on the younger's face.

When Mingi noticed him staring, he flashed a smirk before sliding Hongjoong's shirt off. Then he grabbed the older's chin and tilted his head back to connect their lips.

Hongjoong's heart skipped a beat as he hummed.

They stayed like that for a few moments, neither one taking it further, both just enjoying the connection.

After they broke apart, they both stripped to their boxers and Mingi slipped under the covers first. He opened his arms wide and Hongjoong eagerly slipped into them and pressed himself into Mingi's warm body.

The younger was right. They could talk about it tomorrow. And he would. He was not going to let Seonghwa get away with what happened tonight.

But tonight? Tonight he could enjoy. Because part of him was worried that he wouldn't have many nights like this left.

.

.

.

.

Yunho picked at his lip as he stood outside San's door. He had sensed that something was wrong with the younger, but for some reason he was scared to ask.

Which was completely ridiculous. Was it because he had been so worried about San tonight? Or because... He as finally getting attached enough that he was scared he couldn't help?

He had never been in this position before and honestly didn't know what to do.

But he knew he needed to try and be strong for the younger. That's what got him here in the first place. He wanted to help him.

So Yunho took a deep breath and knocked on the door. When he didn't get an answer, Yunho pushed the door open slowly.

San was curled up on his bed holding his plush close to his chest.

"San?" Yunho whispered, stepping forward slowly and sitting on the bed. He ran his hand down the younger's arm. "What's going on?"

"Do I do something to hurt Wooyoung? Is that why he's not ok right now?" San whispered into the back of his dog.

"Oh, no, Sannie..." Yunho reached over and pulled San up so he could hold him. "I don't think you did. From everything I've gathered from tonight, I think you protected him. Is that why you're in here by yourself?"

San just whimpered and nodded. "When they take over... I can't remember anything. So there's part of tonight that I can't remember."

Yunho rubbed the back of his head gently. "San take a deep breath. I don't think it was you. You are doing so much better than before, look at how easily you were able to take control again tonight. And I know you protected Wooyoung after that happened. Did he look like he was hurt at all?"

"No." San paused and then looked up at Yunho. "So I didn't hurt him?"

Yunho cupped the side of San's face and shook his head. "No, I don't think you did."

A smile crossed the younger's face. He turned to set his plush aside and wrapped his arms around Yunho's stomach. "Thank you."

The older chuckled gently. "For what?"

"For sticking by my side. I'm glad I met you. No one's ever given me a chance before." San tilted his head back and closed the distance between them before Yunho had a chance to answer.

Yunho inhaled sharply through is nose as he tried to pull San closer to him. He felt the same way about the younger. He could feel the fire growing in the pit of his stomach as he ran his tongue over San's lower lip.

He waited before pressing any further. They had never discussed doing anything, and he had never done anything before himself, but something about this moment felt so right.

And apparently San agreed. The younger parted his lips slowly and snaked his tongue out to meet Yunho's. They both let out a small moan as Yunho tangled his finger's in San's red and black hair, trying to bring him even closer.

He didn't even know what he was feeling right now, but he knew it was good. And he wanted more. He could feel himself getting harder as San shifted to straddle him, keeping their lips connected the entire time.

The younger was getting almost needy, and Yunho knew it was because he couldn't remember ever being shown any kind of affection before. All San wanted was to be loved, and he intended on making it happen.

Slowly, Yunho slipped a hand under San's shirt and started running it over his back. The feeling of a few scars made him want to stop, but at the same time, he didn't want to ruin the moment. He could feel San shivering at his touch, and he himself moaned again when San returned the favor and started pulling up his shirt.

They broke apart for a moment to take their shirts off and throw them to the side. San paused for a moment, a bright pink blush coming to his cheeks as he shrank under Yunho's gaze.

The older couldn't help it though. While he was one again shocked to see a few scares littering San's skin, he was able to easily look past them to see just now stunning San was. All of their work had given him toned arms that rippled when he flexed or even just moved. He had the hint of a six back too right above where his v-line vanished into his black jeans.

Yunho licked his lips before pulling San to him again, claiming his mouth and pushing his tongue into the younger's mouth.

San moaned into the kiss and rocked his hips, rubbing their clothed members together and making both of them grunt as they dragged their hands down each other's backs.

Then Yunho laid back and rotated so his head hit San's pillow and the younger was laying on top of him. He broke their kiss pushed San's head to the side by nuzzling his cheek so he could kiss along his jawline and down his neck. The way San tilted his head to the side and looked down at Yunho with hooded eyes was stunning.

"San..." Yunho whispered against his neck, rubbing his cheek back and forth. The younger moaned a little and started rocking his hips, making Yunho gasp and drop his head back to the pillow.

He brought a hand up and cupped the side of San's face, giving him a lustful smile.

In one quick motion, he rolled them over, pinning San beneath him and latching his lips onto San's throat. The younger became a whimpering mess beneath him as he sucked on several different spots. The last one he intentionally left a mark, then licked over it slowly, loving the way it looked on San's collarbone.

As Yunho started to kiss his way down San's chest, he started to work at his jeans, unbuttoning them slowly and working to pull them, and his boxers, down the younger's legs. He left open mouth kisses along San's stomach and down his legs.

He nipped at the flesh beneath his mouth, savoring the whimpers that filled his hears and the little jerks San would do.

Then he peeked up at San and felt his heart skip a beat when he saw the sweaty sheen that had formed across the younger's skin and the way his mouth was open while he panted heavily.

Yunho wanted to hear more of San, so he extended his neck and licked San's member from the base to the tip in one quick motion.

San's eyes flew open with shock and he arched his back off the bed. "A-Ah!" He cried out and fisted the sheets on either side of his body.

"Does that feel good?" Yunho asked, smirking a little as he repeated the action a couple of times, loving how much San was reacting to just that simple action.

"Y-Yes!" San gasped when Yunho took him in his mouth. The older started to slowly bob his head up and down, hallowing out his cheeks as he sucked at the same time. He as determined to make San feel as good as possible.

He picked up the pace while bringing his finger's up to grab some of the slick he had created before circling San's entrance. When he took San deep into his throat he pushed a finger inside.

San cried out and clenched around his finger, almost forcing it out, but Yunho pushed it back in, repeating the motion several times.

Eventually, the younger began to loosen up and Yunho was able to add a second finger and he began twisting his hand back and forth.

"Y-Y-Yun..." San gasped as he started to squirm.

The older chuckled as he continued to got down on him, knowing San had to be close to reaching his orgasm.

He sped up, both his sucking and his pumping, turning San into a whimpering mess as the younger reached down and grabbed his fluffy brown hair.

"A-Ahnnn... Yunho..." San whimpered, scrunching his face up. Then he cried out as he hit his climax, filling Yunho's mouth with his seed.

The older swallowed it quickly and moved up to kiss San again, swallowing his whimpers as Yunho added a third finger.

"It's ok baby." Yunho whispered against San's lips. "You're going to feel even better soon." He promised, connecting their lips once again.

San wrapped his arms around him, pulling him close. "Please. Please..." He gasped, unable to for any other words.

Yunho backed up and spat on his hand to lube up his own aching member, pumping it a few times before lifting San's legs off the bed to gain better access to his entrance. "Relax for me." He whispered.

San watched him with lust filled eyes and nodded.

Slowly, Yunho pushed himself in, taking it inch by inch. He would slow down whenever San hissed and started to clench. To help relax him, Yunho would stroke his member slowly, adding to the sensation for him.

They both let it a deep moan when Yunho finally bottomed out. He sat there for several seconds, letting both of them get used to the new feeling. But soon his desire took over and he started to slowly pull back out.

"G-God San... You're s-so... tight!" Yunho gasped as he slid back in.

The younger just whimpered and and lifted a shaking up arm. Yunho bent forward, taking San's hips with him so he was doubled over a little and kissed San's forehead.

San dug his nails into Yunho's shoulders as the older started to speed up, thrusting down into him.

Yunho saw stars each time he bottomed out. He bit his lip as he pressed their foreheads together and gripped San's hips so he could speed up and go down on him a little harder.

"There!" San managed to call out. Every other sound was unintelligible, even though Yunho was pretty sure he was trying to say how good this felt. He could see it written all over San's face.

He obliged, though, and worked to keep hitting the same spot.

San gripped both of this shoulders now, squeezing hard enough to the point o fit being uncomfortable, but Yunho pushed through it as he felt himself getting closer to his climax.

"S-San... I'm c-close!"

The younger whimpered and just nodded his head.

Yunho snapped his hips forward a few more times, loving the sound it made, before he came, filling San with his seed.

San also hit his climax again, spray his chest and stomach.

They both sighed heavily as Yunho pulled out, helping San unfold and then cleaned them up.

San's eyes were hazy as he watched Yunho, but he had a smile on his face the entire time.

"Are you ok?" Yunho asked as he lifted San off the bed to pull back the covers.

The younger hummed and nuzzled his nose against Yunho's neck.

Yunho carefully set San down and nestled in next to him. "Are you sure?" He asked as he wrapped his long limbs around the younger.

"I'm... I'm more than ok." San whispered against his neck, sending a chill down Yunho's spine. "This is the happiest I can ever remember being."

Yunho felt his cheeks flush at the words. He felt the same.

They laid there for several long minutes, just enjoying the warmth of each other's arms before San spoke up again. "Yunho?" His voice barely above a whisper.

The older hummed happily, tilting his head to start placing soft kisses into San's hair.

"I know... I know this is fast, and we still don't know what's wrong with me or how to fix me. But I feel like I need to say it, or I'll regret it if I don't..."

Yunho tried to look at the younger's face, but San kept it pressed to Yunho's chest. "What is it?"

San was quiet for a long moment, but he tightened his grip on the older. "I... I think I love you. And maybe I don't know what love actually means, but-"

Feeling his heart jump into his throat, Yunho finally moved them enough to tilt San's head up to connect their lips one more time.

He didn't know if either of them truly understood what it meant to love another person, but Yunho was pretty sure this was it. He had gone from hating the criminal to wanting to protect him at all costs. And what they had just been through... He was looking forward to doing it again and again.

The kiss was slow and passionate. Both trying to express their feelings to each other for several minutes.

Yunho pulled back when he felt the overwhelming need to breath again, but he immediately connected their foreheads. "I don't care if it's fast. Because I think I love you too, Sannie."

"You do?"

"Yes. And we will figure this out together, I promise."


	29. Chapter 29

_You're pathetic. Worthless. How could you do this to us?_

"No..."

_Weak. Useless._

"Please..."

_Show us how strong you are San. Prove to us that you are worthy._

San shifted in bed and tried to focus on the door. He wouldn't let them take over. He couldn't... Not after last night.

_You don't need him. We will take care of you. You saw what happened at the bank. You could have that kind of_ **_power._ **

But he didn't want it. He wanted the happiness he had found with Yunho.

San bit his lip and sat up in bed, gently lifting the arm around his waist off him and glancing down at the taller.

Yunho's cheeks were slightly rosy as he smacked his lips and rubbed his nose before rolling over. He looked so peaceful when he slept.

_Now's your chance._ **_Do it._ **

San shook his head and slipped out of bed. If he couldn't get them to stop, then he knew he needed to take himself away from what was causing them to act up.

_San!_

His head snapped the the side. He could feel the darkness starting to take over. "No! I don't serve you!"

 ** _Yes you do._** The voices started to chant over and over again.

San felt himself losing the battle. He almost turned around to go back to Yunho, but he knew that if he lost at the wrong moment, it could mean Yunho's life. So he ran in the other direction, and was then slammed against the wall by some invisible force as he lost himself to the other side...

His eyes narrowed as he looked in both directions.

Back the way he came was the one who was destroying him. In front of him were other targets that posed a threat, one being the cowardly boy who had recognized one of the men today.

San chuckled as he remembered the terrified look on the boy's face. He had every right to be afraid.

But for now... There was something he needed to do.

So he turned down the hall he knew would lead him to the main computer system.

He peeked in the door and saw that the hacker was curled up on his bed in the corner. Moving on silent feet, San grabbed the single laptop he had and sat out in the hallway.

The idiot was too trusting and didn't set up a passcode, making it all to easy to send the small piece of information out that was needed. Then he put the laptop back exactly where he found it and made his way back to his room.

The driver was still sound asleep in the bed. As much as it might simplify things to just end him now... It could complicate things in the future.

So he crawled back into bed and slowly released the hold on his body and nestled back into Yunho's arms.

.

.

.

.

Jongho tapped the table nervously as he waiting for the meeting to start. Everyone was on edge now that Hongjoong had called a 'family meeting' and was sitting at the head of the table.

His face was set in a scowl as he stared at the table. If he had the ability to burn things just from his gaze, there would be a hole in the table...

Mingi was already there, and so was San and Yunho.

It was obvious that something had happened between the two of them. Yunho could barely keep his eyes off San, and San kept glancing up at Yunho and then looked away turning red.

It was cute, but also annoying, as it just reminded Jongho that he was still stuck in his loner status.

He huffed as he thought about all the times he had tried asking guys at his fighting ring out and was always turned down. And now here he was bottom of the food chain too.

Seemed fitting he supposed. Maybe it's what he deserved, seeing as he started earning money from the ring.

Yeosang came in a few minutes later and sat between Jongho and Mingi.

The younger found himself watching the hacker's smooth movements longer than he should have and instantly looked away.

Their time together monitoring the bank heist yesterday... It hadn't been as bad as Jongho had thought guarding the hacker would be.

Yeosang had an adorable face of concentration when he leaned over the keyboard. He never looked down at what he was typing either, showing complete confidence in his hands.

And the way he pushed his sucker around in his mouth...

Jongho shook his head and sat up straighter. This was just the loneliness talking. It's not like Yeosang would ever be interested in a 'brute' like him. He was probably attracted to someone on the same level as him smarts wise.

"There you are." Hongjoong said, making Jongho look up.

Seonghwa was standing in the doorway. He looked nervous.

"Where is Wooyoung?"

"He's still sleeping. I... I couldn't bring myself to wake him up." Seonghwa said gently. It looked like he wanted to glance over his shoulder or turn around, but he forced himself to go sit.

"We can fill him in later, I guess. Now I need you to tell me what happened Seonghwa. You knew them, didn't you?" Hongjoong said, getting straight to the point.

Seonghwa visibly tensed, but held Hongjoong gaze.

Jongho glanced and Yunho and saw that his eyes were flitting between the two of them as well as he spun his coffee cup on the table.

"Yes." The oldest finally answered.

Jongho felt his mouth open slightly at the revelation.

"Who were they?"

"I already told you, I can't reveal that information. That was part of my deal." Seonghwa's mouth formed a thin line as he kept his voice low and even.

"How can you be that selfish?" Yunho asked, leaning forward. Seonghwa's eyes flicked to the taller, but nothing else moved. "I respected that choice to begin with, but do we mean nothing to you now? I thought we were a team."

The veins in Seonghwa's neck and forehead strained as it looked like he was struggling to hold himself back.

"What happened to Wooyoung?" Hongjoong asked.

San leaned forward too, showing his interest in the answer. His forehead was creased with concern, and Yunho placed a hand on his back to try and calm him.

At those words, Seonghwa's face broke a little bit as his eyes now moved to the door.

"Seonghwa." Hongjoong's voice became stern. "Last chance."

"He recognized someone from his past." Seonghwa spoke softly.

Yeosang sucked in a harsh breath and brought a hand to his mouth. "And that's why he froze?"

"Yes."

"There's something more you aren't telling us." Hongjoong pressed his fingers together and brought them to his lips.

Jongho nodded in agreement. While Yeosang was good with electronics, Jongho was good with people. He could tell that Seonghwa was hiding something just by the way he was sitting. It was like he had to keep his body locked up to give away anything.

And frankly, it was starting to piss Jongho off.

Hongjoong let out a long sigh. "You have until the end of the day to decide if you're going to tell us or not, Seonghwa. If you don't, you're off the team."

The oldest paled a little, but didn't move or say anything as Hongjoong shoved his chair back as he stood. "I'm doing a grocery run. Who wants to go with me?"

"We will. I could use some fresh air." Yunho growled, taking San's hand and pulling him from the table.

No one looked at Seonghwa as they left.

But Hongjoong did stop in the hallway and turn to Yeosang. "Will you keep an eye on him? There's something going on and I don't like it. I don't want to have to send him back to the prison, but I won't tolerate anything that will put any of you in danger."

Jongho admired the concern in his eyes as his faced softened while looked at the hacker, and then turned to Jongho.

"Yeah, I can do that. Are you ok?" Yeosang asked, chewing on his lip.

Their leader hummed and rubbed his eyebrow. "I just want this straightened out. We still know nothing about, well... anything. I feel like we are no closer to bringing them down than when we first started."

"I think we just need to give it a little more time." Jongho said. "They are bound to show their hand or slip up at some point. They know we are out here now. We'll get them." He lifted a hand and placed it gently on Hongjoong's shoulder.

The older had a defeated look on his face, but he gave Jongho a grateful nod. "Do you guys need anything from the store."

"More suckers." Yeosang said, earning a smirk from Hongjoong.

"No, I'm good. You guys stay safe."

Hongjoong nodded before going to join Mingi, Yunho, and San at the door by the garage.

"Do you... Want to come with me for a little bit? I wouldn't mind some fighting pointers." Yeosang said, the corner of his mouth rising in a small smile.

Jongho nodded quickly, then paused when he Seonghwa stepped out of the dining room and walked in the direction of their back patio.

The pair stood there for a second before making their way to Yeosang's room.

Jongho went to sit on the bed while Yeosang logged into the computer and pulled up the monitoring system. He glanced over at the screen and noticed four dots speeding away on an overview map of the city. On a different screen there were two dots in Yeosang's room, one dot in Seonghwa's room, and one dot on the back patio.

Nodding in satisfaction, Yeosang spun his chair around and gave Jongho a serious look. "Ok, what's first." He blinked once.

Jongho chuckled and stood up, rotating his shoulders and cracking his neck. "Let's start with the basic poses, do you remember the little bit I taught you already?"

The older nodded and stood up. He spread his legs apart, bent his knees, and lifted his balled up fists in front of his face.

"Good." Jongho praised, then placed his hand over one of Yeosang's and pushed it down. "Make sure you can still see. That's the most important thing. And you need to keep your ears open."

"Ok, ok." Yeosang said, adjusting where he held his hands so one was close to his face and the other was a little lower.

"Better. Now, show me your punch." Jongho held up his open hand and nodded.

Yeosang's eyes widened, but another nod from Jongho had him focusing his attention on Jongho's hand. He pressed his lips together in a thin line, then swung forward, making contact with Jongho's hand.

The younger had to admit that it stung a little, but he'd been hit harder. It was a good first try. And the way that Yeosang's eyes lit up was absolutely adorable.

"That felt good." Yeosang said, hopping in place.

"Good. Let's go again." Jongho clapped his hands twice then held them up.

They worked on that for a bit until Yeosang had a decent swing, then they moved on to some other moves.

When Yeosang felt comfortable enough, they started a practice fight to work on Yeosang staying observant and dodging Jongho's attacks.

The sparred for a long time. Both of them had a layer of sweat coating their bodies and soaking into the their shirts.

As they started to wear down, Yeosang took another swing at Jongho and went wide. He stumbled forward, gasped as he threw his arms out to catch himself.

Jongho bent forward and looped and arm around Yeosang's waist, trying to catch the older before he hit the floor.

The momentum of both of them ended up winning, however, and they both crashed. But Jongho twisted them so he took the brunt of the fall and Yeosang landed on top of him. It caused him to smack his head against the hard floor, though, and he groaned.

"Oh! Oh, I'm so sorry." Yeosang said, reaching a hand up to grab the back of Jongho's head. "Are you ok?"

Jongho hissed and reached up at the same time. He ended up placing his hand over Yeosang's not he back of his head and they both froze.

As his heart started to pound faster, Jongho decided to take a chance. He slowly guided Yeosang's hand down so that ran across his head and stopped at his cheek. Then he turned his head to lean into the older's hand and closed his eyes.

Yeosang's thumb moved back and forth on it's own accord and Jongho couldn't help but let out a small sigh at the feeling.

"Jongho?" Yeosang said, his voice barely above a murmur.

The younger opened his eyes and looked up at him. The sight took his breath away. Yeosang's skin glistened and even with his hair messed up and plastered to his forehead, he had never looked better.

"I know... You didn't want to be stuck with me. But... I'm gl-"

Jongho cut Yeosang off by extending his neck and pressing their lips together.

The older squeezed Jongho's cheek and the contact and instantly returned the kiss.

This was better than he had even imagined. So much for being lonely. Jongho had to chuckle at the thought.

Yeosang pulled the kiss. "What?" He asked, looking confused.

"Nothing, nothing." Jongho smiled, nuzzling into Yeosang's hand again. "I was just throwing myself a pity party earlier because Hongjoong and Mingi, and now Yunho and San have hooked up."

Yeosang let out a sigh of relief. "I thought you were laughing at me."

"For that weak ass punch maybe." Jongho smirked, earning a glare from the older.

"Take that back."

"Ok." Jongho said, pulling Yeosang down into another kiss.

They stayed like that for several minutes, both getting used to the sensation. It was foreign to both, so they were just testing the waters right now.

But they were both so absorbed in each other, that they didn't notice the group of dots moving around the perimeter of their complex.


End file.
